Anyone know anything about probate? I really don't want to pay my Attorney $225 an hour for something I can do. It's a small estate with only one heir. There is a house and car but everything else was in joint accounts. Any info would be great.
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Anyone know anything about probate? I really don't want to pay my Attorney $225 an hour for something I can do. It's a small estate with only one heir. There is a house and car but everything else was in joint accounts. Any info would be great.
Yes, Ken Scalir might be able to help. He is an expert, and...Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodpoop
Oh, wait. You said PRObate. Never mind.
But seriously, if it's a very simple estate and you feel comfortable filing the paperwork yourself, you can probably google this and find instructions on how to do it. I have no experience with probate, but I have found that most simple legal matters (which don't require an attorney) can be handled by learning about the process on the internet and filing the paperwork yourself.
It all depends. I had to go through with this and still had to obtain an attorney that cost me I'd say around $1.5k to $2k after everything was completed. If the bank accounts were joint with the next of kin then those shouldn't be a problem but if they aren't then even if the person who passed away has no other living children or spouse that could put up a fight their is still some added paperwork that is involved which you might or might not be able to do.
Attorneys love to rape people however they can. I remember seeing a breakdown of fees from the initial consultation to the girl I had charging me for every five minute phone call she made to me to give me the latest details so I wish you the best of luck.
Am a lawyer but no expert on probate. Having said that not all deaths require that there be a probate estate. Property in a jt account automatically goes to the other owner with you presenting a death certificate to the bank, etc. if the one heir is for example the spouse or the only offspring it might be doable without filing for probate.....was any of the property held in trust? Agree that a quick google search with printing some docs might do the trick.
It all has to do with how many heirs there are, on what the relationship is between them, and the size of the estate. If all this is good, then the caveat is if there are any creditors. If you are the estate's executor, then it's prudent to public post "..if anyone lays claim.." This will lessen the time a creditor has to respond to any claims (at least in the state of wash.) Liens against the estate will probably be the biggest headache, but when you public post, just wait out the prescribed time, and you'll be good to go. Also, as executor, you must get an EIN # from the irs to enable final tax and closing of the estate. Go to the irs site--they have a lot of info on this. The last thing is to keep records of all $'s spent administrating the estate.
What state are you in?
Yes, I know something about probate
It sucks
balls
That is all
The estate is in Maryland.
The heir is the only child so nobody will be fighting over the estate. It seems that the probate will be easy but I'm getting different answer with the home. It does have a lien on it.
My wife (the heir) is the executor. We paid off all the small debts and only have the house mortgage. My understanding is I have to wait six months for the creditors or what the attorney said is opening the estate. The issue I'm having is the home/car insurance will not be renewed until it is in our names. It looks like the probate will take 9 months. Their is noway in HELL I'm going without insurance for that long. Plus the bank wouldn't let us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sitting Out
No trust.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurdleking