(Hugs) So sorry for your loss, OP.
SS never paid anything when my mom died in February so the death benefit may not be forthcoming in your situation. They also didn’t ask for a copy of the death certificate, I just called them and told them and they were all “ok, don’t touch your mom’s bank account until we yank out the March check.”
A passport is always government property. They own it, not the bearer or family.
Normally people turn it in because they’re afraid if they loose it, the information displayed on the passport could be used for fraud.
I’m sure you could probably keep it for sentimental reasons, just don’t lose it.
You can ask to keep the passport, but I’m sure it will have to be voided in some way. We asked to keep Daddy’s military ID card, and the clerk used a holepunch to obliterate his SS number.
~VOW
IIRC, there’s no Federal estate tax on estates worth less than $5 million for persons who died in 2011, so it sounds like you’re nowhere close to having to worry about that.
In Massachusetts, it appears you’ll have to file a state estate tax return if your mother’s assets were worth $1 million or more before considering offsetting liabilities, but will only have to pay tax if the net worth of her estate was at least $1 million.
But I am neither a lawyer nor a tax accountant, so check with someone who is, and who has experience in estate tax preparation in Massachusetts specifically.
One important thing to remember, should it come to that, is that if your mother owes more than her assets are worth, that’s her creditors’ tough luck, not yours. Once the assets of her estate are used up, there is no further obligation to satisfy her creditors. Note also that for purposes of payment of debts, assets passing outside of probate (such as joint bank accounts, or insurance policies with named beneficiaries) usually don’t count. (Such assets DO count for estate tax purposes, though.) But again, consult with a professional if things seem to be headed into this territory.
I was told to get a ton of death certificates, and needed one or two at the most. They are a waste of money and if you really really need more you can get them.
I’d also call all the credit card companies that she had and tell them she’s died. They will, or should, stop all interest payments on the day she died. They should also work with you so the estate doesn’t have to pay now. Though I did have one company that put me in to some collection agency. I’m really glad I knew to tell them to prove it and stop calling me.
You might also be able to do the majority of the work yourself instead of a lawyer. I know that in Maryland there was an upfront cost plus some percentage of the estate. If she didn’t have a lot of investments and such it’s really not that hard to do and the probate people should work with you. They will also let you know of any fees and such and what you may have to do about creditors and such.
The one thing I would watch out for is when/if you have to sell her things. I was told I had to get an auctioneer to sell my mother’s things. I did and got ripped off plenty, they took 20% plus a bunch of other fees. I could have thrown most of it away and had a yard sale and done better.
It’ll be tough times, especially if you’re in charge of the estate, but you’ll get through.
Thanks for all the advice (and condolences – seriously, thank you; losing my mother has been pretty hard on me). I’m going to print this thread out and pour over it before talking to my mom’s lawyer next month. Edit: Please keep the advice coming, though! It’s good to hear things I never would have thought of.
Fortunately, my dad volunteered to go through her papers and figure out the state of her affairs. As far as I know the only major things I need to concern myself about are her condominium and possibly her student loans (I don’t know if they were government loans or not). She had no other assets and no other debt, AFAIK.
Oh, I should mention: I’m actually the co-executor of her estate. The other executor is my useless brother, who has done nothing to help out in all of this.
When you renew your passport, they return your old passport to you with holes punched in the sides to show that it’s no longer valid. (At least they did - my husband had his passport renewed, oh, 2010 and he got his old one back. Presumably so that you can keep the stamps from all the places you’ve been.) Perhaps you can contact the passport agency and do something similar with your mother’s passport.
My condolences. Stay strong through this difficult time; don’t be afraid to ask for help or support from those that you’re close to. They want to be there for you; tell them how.
Seconded. The funeral director suggested we get a bundle of 25 copies and I think my brothers (who were the executors) needed most of them.
I can’t imagine the government noticing whether the passport gets returned, but I could be wrong about that. I don’t think my mother had a passport when she died.
Make sure that any mail that goes to her home gets put aside and you get a look at it. There will be the usual assortment of bills and bank statements which you’ll need to deal with.
Make arrangements for the mortgage payments to be kept up.
Find someone who can keep an eye on the place to make sure it doesn’t suffer from neglect, burst pipes etc. Repairs need to be kept up, make sure there’s no newspaper piling up in front of her door, maybe set lights on timers so it looks a bit more occupied.
Try to get current values for any property (including the condo); that’s relevant for valuing the estate, also for gains / losses if the place sells. Your cost basis as the heir would be equal to its current value, and if you sell in a year, any appreciation would be on that basis, not the full value. Say she paid 150,000 for it, it’s now worth 250,000, and you sell it for 300,000 - your taxable gain would be 50,000 rather than the whole 150,000.
Put movable valuables (e.g. jewelry) in a safe location such as a safety deposit box. If the place is unoccupied, you want to minimize a thief making away with anything irreplaceable.
i’m sorry to hear of your mother’s passing. may her memory be eternal.
i second consulting with a cpa. find one that is good with taxes and real estate. i found out years after the fact that i was to pay estate taxes on the house (both our names with survivourship) within 9 months of mum’s passing.
trying to do an inventory on what was there 4 years ago was quite challenging. do an inventory now, include the smallest thing even socks and underwear. to help you put a price to things, check the salvation army and goodwill web sites. they have great listings of common everyday items.
cpa will help you with any commonwealth and city tax issues. also check to see if because your mother was in mass. commonwealth and you are in pa commonwealth if there are any transfer issues you should know of.
i know someone who had to pay taxes on her own bank account because she had her sister’s name on it. when her sister passed she called the bank to have sis’ name removed and the bank told her she had to pay a tax on half the amount in the bank. even though sis never put money in the account, never had any dealings with the account, etc. all because that was the law in new jersey.
a cpa will be able to help you out with all that.
The estate is it’s own entity so it needs an ID number. If it hasn’t been done the you need to apply for an EIN. The IRS has an on line application that’s fairly simple:
https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp
or an Enrolled Agent, CPA, or Attorney can help you with it.
My sincerest condolences, gallows.
I’m absolutely no help with any other part of the situation, but I have considerable experience with student loans on both the government and borrower side of things. (I spent three years answering the phone calls of those who answered the phone calls asking questions like yours.) If you’d like, I can help with figuring out loan status, originator, holder, etc. PM me if I can help.
Thank you very much! I will probably PM you sometime this month with all the info I have.
Also don’t forget: as executor, your expenses are paid by the estate. If you have to hire somebody to do maintenance on the condo, if you find you are making so many copies you need your own copy machine, postage, phone calls, things of that nature. Do keep an itemized list of those expense, with receipts.
~VOW
Thank you, I didn’t know that!
This might sound ridiculously stupid, but… I still have to pay her mortgage and monthly condo fee until we sell the place, right? Because that’s an additional $1200/month and…thank God I live with my father, that’s all I can say.
This is all pretty overwhelming to me right now. There’s just so much I have no idea how to handle.
No, you don’t; her estate does. If you speak to the mortgage company, they’ll likely allow the estate to stop payments, though interest will still accrue.
Go through her bank statements to look for recurring payments. If she had insurance, the insurance company’s name may show up there.
I mentioned it up thread but it’s worth repeating – check with her lender to see if she had insurance on her loan. I’ve never owned a condo, but whenever I’ve had a mortgage, I’ve been offered insurance. If I die, the loan is paid.
I have been offered similar insurance, though I’ve always declined it (regular life insurance is a better deal).
Yes, the mortgage and condo fees do need to be kept up but as noted, your mother’s estate is responsible, not you personally. Of course if there’s insufficient cash in the estate, you have the option of paying it personally then getting reimbursed by the estate once the place sells. Note that if you do so, that’s before the rest of the estate is distributed among the heirs (you and your brother?). So if the place profits 50,000 and you spend 6,000 on the mortgage, the net profit is 44,000. Your brother gets 22,000, you get 28,000 because of the mortgage reimbursement.
I would not pay things like outstanding credit card bills out of pocket. Yes, the estate is responsible for those, but there’s no foreclosure risk with them. Pay them once the condo sells (or with cash on hand if any).
If your mother had regular life insurance, that is payable to the beneficiaries. I do NOT know if that must be used to settle debts (pretty sure it does not).
Oooh: also, travel expenses to get to/from Boston, meals while there, etc.
I wonder if some Boston-area Dopers can recommend a local real estate agent for you (might be worth starting a separate thread). You want to get an idea of the valuation of the place pretty soon, that’ll affect some decisions you need to make. For example if the condo has little equity, you might want to just clear things out and send the keys to the bank.
I wrote in haste here. If you act as the administrator of the estate, you are indeed responsible, because you’re in charge of her estate. This is another reason you should appoint a professional local administrator.