My father died. ::SAD:: I’ve “inherited” a very fancy vehicle, and an equally divine condominium (located far far away from where I legally live), and there is a “trust” out there.
I thought my dad had all his ducks in a row. Apparently, not so. My stepmom is NOT the executor of his estate. The will is presently unfindable (some lawyer, who is now retired, whose law firm was sold, etc.) :mad:
I’m trying to call the bank(s) involved, and only get voicemail or the “Press 1, Press 2” !@#$%^& options. :mad: Are there no other human beings on this planet?
And I’m having to go to his funeral on the Fed Govt’s dime, whose wheels churn extremely slowly, if at all.
Let me hear from ya, Dopers. Condolences would be good, and/or advice.
I don’t have any advice for you, but I can say that I am sorry for your loss and I hope that you are able to get things worked out soon. Death of a parent is hard enough, much less having to deal with all the bureaucratic stuff that often comes with it.
Get a lawyer. Let him track down the will, talk to the bank, see to the paperwork. Lawyers aren’t just for suing people - they’re for untangling all sorts of legal knots.
I am the executor for my Mom’s will and I have no idea what that means other than I get the headache along with the heartache. So … I made my Mom and siblings go to a lawyer last week to sort out some details, work out a trust and figure out what was where and who gets what. We are just getting started but it is going to be well worth every penny we spend now, just in the tax saving, not to mention the savings in my sanity.
I hope you find the will, or you won’t inherit anything. In almost any jurisdiction, if there is no will, a surviving spouse inherits everything.
Without a will, family members may end up fighting over who becomes the adminsitrator of the estate. I am now the administrator of my uncle’s estate, because no one else wanted to be, and he died unmarried and childless. One family member must file an application with the court, and the court then offers other family members the opportunity to throw their own hat in the ring if they don’t want the other person in that role.
You do need to hire a lawyer, and how fast depends on your level of trust in your step mom. If she takes the position that there is no will, she can file the court papers and have everything put in her name. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what you would do to contest this in court, but obviously you would need to make a counter claim that there IS a will, and the estate should not be probated without a reasonable opportunity to find it.
I am not a lawyer – I have no idea of the specific legal issues involved.
My mother is the executor of the estate of her father, who died about three years ago—he *did *leave a will, and she’s still dealing with red tape and institutionalized idiocy. Common example: navigating the Byzantine phone menus to eventually reach a human bank representative, explaining *yet again * the situation of his death, only to receive afterward another piece of mail addressed to my grandfather containing an affidavit requiring his signature (I hereby affirm that I am deceased, essentially.)
I can’t imagine how much worse it would be without a will. If there is a silver lining, it is that it that my mother is taking great pains to prevent me from going through the same horseshit after she passes.
My grandpa’s will was so messed up, all of us grandchildren signed away any rights to the estate. This left ma and my aunt as the twp people that had to deal with it. They had a lawyer dealing with it for two years before everything was finished. It was almost not worth it to them the will was such an abomination. Thank God for a lawyer to handle the institutions that had to be dealt with.
Can I use this moment to remind the Dopers to have a properly executed will and up to date trust documents?!? The lawyer’s office keeps a copy, and you keep a copy. Choose your executor/executrix and tell them about it before you die. If they don’t want the job, give it to someone else. In the same folder as your will/trust/DNR/whatever, please make a comprehensive, updated list of important stuff- bank accounts, life insurance, mortgages/loans, lawyer’s contact info, etc.
Don’t leave a horrendous mess for the people you leave behind. This goes quadruple if you have significant assets OR children.
Thank you, kind and helpful Dopers. The will HAS been found, and the attendant lawyer. The trust/estate banker has also been located. I talk to the lawyer about the will on Monday.
My father was very shrewd, highly successful commercial loan officer (and ultimately a Vice President of a highly-respected Chicago bank in its heyday - 60’s and 70’s), and he opened two branch banks - Sydney Australia and London England in the midst of personal tragedy. He had plenty of sense enough to keep his $$$ separate from my stepmom’s considerable wealth. I am his sole heir, and she is in no way competing with me, AFAIK.
I hope this thread remains open. We all need help and compassion in these tough times.
You will probably need advice on how to spend all this new found wealth. I am here for you.
Here’s al alternative POV of the same thing. You will probably encounter all kinds of weasaels appearing out of nowhere trying to get a piece of you and your wealth. I am your first weasel, but a very nice one.
As other posters suggest, I, too, would find the attorney. Times like this aren’t exactly good for legal concerns. Let someone else work on this for you.
Boyo Jim, please do not offer such advice when you do not know it’s accuracy. Even in Wisconsin, where, based on your location designation, you appear to live, that is not true. In cases of intestacy (no will) IF the decedent’s children all are the spouse’s children, THEN the entire estate goes to the spouse. IF the decedent has at least one surviving child who is NOT the spouse’s child (as appears to be the case here), the spouse gets half the estate (yadda, yadda, yadda), and the children divide the other half.
Just wanted to clarify this point (bolding mine). To probate a will, the ORIGINAL must be filed with the court. No matter who has a copy, make sure your peeps know where THE ORIGINAL will is.
