Someone said to me recently, "Death is a recession-proof business." Interesting thought. And one that brings to mind the two things that you can count on, "taxes and dying"....yep!
There are hundreds of versions of what we can expect with "death".
Many people have not prepared or planned properly for this inescapable event. Unfortunately, it isn't so much the person off to the pearly gates that has the issue, it is instead the family left behind.
Probate means to "Prove the will". It is simply the formal legal process one goes through to obtain approval from the responsible court, that a will is authentic and accurately represents the wishes, or "will," of the deceased.
If you prepare and create an estate plan, YOUR FAMILY can bypass this procedure. Today we have a few questions related to the subject.
Chris Johnson Esq. answered the following submissions:
My sister is the executor of my father's will. She and I are the only beneficiaries. We have been going thru the probate process. She received the letters from the Court to act as executor with full authority in April 2008. We have since completed and submitted all the appraisal paperwork and are coming up on the 1 year mark where the Court wants a status update. What does this paperwork entail? Also, my sister and I agreed to share all the expenses on the property in the estate, taxes etc so she went ahead and distributed the cash and stocks and other requests per the will last december. We didn't notify the court. Was this a mistake. Can I submit it now? If we decide to file a petition for final distribution, how do I let the court know that some of the assets were already distributed. I am totally confused as to whether this was a mistake and whether it can be rectified. Please help.
Answer:
The status update would give the court some detail regarding what has happened in the estate and when it's ready to be closed.
It is a violation to distribute the assets without a court order to do so, but it does happen--you can show the court what was distributed, along with a consent and waiver from both of you, and a petition for distribution of the rest of the assets. As you are the only beneficiaries who would be affected by the distribution, the court would likely view it as a "no harm, no foul" situation.
You'll want to get something filed in the right format, though, as courts often set "Order to Show Cause" hearings with subpoenas to appear if nothing's filed before the one-year deadline.
Next submission:
i have a document with my brother's property. He has 2 stores and writes owner Nick P.(my brother), but it has an owner name too of spouse, Maria P. (no children)
With no will........my brother died last week .......everything goes to spouse ??? or i can take something????????
how i will know if property is separate..??? i live in europe he died in california
Answer:
The answer depends on the agreements you have with your brother, along with the titling of the assets--an attorney can review the specific documents and give you a more specific answer. It's also possible you could have a creditor's claim against your brother's estate, but collecting on this also depends on how his assets were titled.
If you need help with estate planning or are in the midst of a probate process with legal questions, please contact us. We are experienced and can help you now. 626.683.8869 or cjohnson@rrjlaw.com
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