My dad was very thorough with his estate planning for after his death. Even though it’s just me and my brother, Dad made sure that he had a will drawn up specifying that the proceeds from the sale of his house (no mortgage) are split between my brother and I.He also made sure that the house was put in mine and my brothers name in 2014 so that if he needed to qualify for Medicaid he would and wouldn’t lose the house.
He has no major debts - a couple medical bills (less than $500) his property taxes are due & he has a small balance on his credit card, which he has funds in his checking account to cover with maybe a couple thousand dollars left over that we might need to use for the funeral expenses if the funeral home requires a deposit while they wait for his insurance policy of $8,000 to be dispersed.He added me to his bank accounts a couple years ago so legally I can still have access to his checking account (savings were transferred to checking before he died) Honestly, he couldn’t have made it any easier for us to take care of everything. For that I am extremely thankful
All in all, he has a will detailing that my brother and I split the proceeds of the sale of the house that is already in our name, no one else is mentioned in the will. My husband is the executor of the will (because we live locally, my brother lives in Texas so Dad just figured it would be easier if anything needed to be “handled locally”After the insurance policy pays for the funeral and I pay the bills and taxes out of his checking he might have somewhere between $2,500 - $5,000 left in his checking account.
My brother and I are both absolutely ok with splitting the cash left over and following the instructions of his will by splitting everything 50/50.
The funeral director is getting the death certificate, filing it with the registry and placing the notice in the paper for debts (I am sorry, it’s late and I can’t remember the technical terms.)My question is this :Do we need to get a lawyer or go through probate or whatever the process is? Or can we just skip the lawyer and save the money that it would cost to hire one?
thanks in advance!
File his will in the probate court after his small bills have been paid. You sure don't need a lawyer if it's only you and your brother and neither of you are contesting anything.
One of the keys is that you & your brother are in agreement so there is little chance of the will being contested.
I am not a practicing/licensed attorney, so the above is just my opinion based on my past experiences. I just went through the same thing with my step-mother.
As for your Dad bank account, check with the Bank as you may need to change over Dad's account to read Estate of Dad's Name. I remember keeping the Estate bank account active for over a year, in case of any surprised bills. Hospitals are torturous for mailing out bills very late.
Please note that since your Dad transferred the Deed of his house over to you and your brother in 2014, that when the time comes to sell the house, the Income tax basis will go all the way back to when your Dad had bought the house. See if you can find the paperwork for when your Dad purchased the house. Keep that paperwork forever.
Every State has their own rules as to whether Probate is needed or not. Check with the County/City Courthouse to see what are the rules.
I think you are done! Your dad gave you an amazing gift making this so easy!
I hope it will never be necessary, but I would do an exchange of letters with your brother confirming what you are doing and that it is by agreement, just in case someone unexpected causes problems in the future. Ex-wives spring to mind.
All accounts/any accounts have a POD on it?
Have you googled "Must I file in probate court in state of ____________(your state)?
Often on something this small you do not.
Does the executor understand to keep a diary while settling, and all paid bills receipts, and etc?
If you can check all the lines, and have googled how to settle an estate with few assets in your state, I myself believe you are home free. But as was already said WE AREN'T attorneys, and aren't to be trusted with the legal questions.
if your county &/or probate court does not seem to have a user friendly website, then go to a county courthouse site for the big city/ cities in your State. Like if I was in some rural pissant county in TX, their County website could be zero info; but I can go onto Harris County website (Houston) to see what’s what for type of probate options as the overall State laws and administrative code for TX probate is what matters.
A ? for you, was the house fully transferred to you and bro back in 2014? So the title is already recorded in both your names and not his? I ask as you said “his property taxes are due”. Or is what he did was a Life Estate? or maybe an Enhanced Benefit Deed (LadyBird)?
sharon