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Well...had that difficult talk
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 399243" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Asking the funeral home is a good thing. This site about probate seems to be more understandable than many: <a href="http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/probing-probate-what-you-should-know.html" target="_blank">http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/probing-probate-what-you-should-know.html</a></p><p></p><p>As far as life insurance, not all policies will tell you if they have a policy and he died. If you are the only beneficiary, it is up to you to tell them that he died. It is one reason that there are so many people in those lists of unclaimed money - they still have to file for it even though the person is dead. If you are listed with your stepmom or anyone else and they file for it, it MUST be given to the beneficiaries even if she objects to the distribution. She literally has NO say in it. She may have problems if stuff is in both of their names. </p><p></p><p>This site says that property passes to your spouse UNLESS you have children from a former marriage. Joint ownership does NOT protect this.</p><p></p><p>Janet, I know things are tight right now, but if you can find an attorney who does a free consult, PLEASE go speak to them about this. If not, consider paying the fee for a short consultation. having both their names on property can mean she can clean out the accounts, but it doesn't mean that you don't inherit anything. It is in her best interest to tell you that there is nothing for you, that it is all joint property and goes to her. It may be true, but until you speak to an attorney you won't really know. </p><p></p><p>Given what you have said about your dad, he would NOT want you to give up your interests in his estate. he would want you to treat his wife with respect and courtesy, but not to give up your part of his property. Otherwise, when she dies it will go to HER kids. Would he want all of his property to go to HER children, or did he want to leave some things to you? Many of the elderly do a lot of things to leave something to their kids, esp those who lived through the depression. It is likely that your father thought about this, esp as you already know he wanted you to have certain things. You have a right to see the list of what he "wrote down" and to the portion of the estate you are legally entitled to. </p><p></p><p>If he put things in both their names to avoid estate taxes, he surely asked a lawyer how to do it. I would not trust that his list does not meet the definition of a will - in many states it would be considered legally binding even if an attorney did not write it or it did not use a certain format. As his child you are legally entitled to a portion of his property unless he specifically disinherited you. Don't give up your rights because you fear that she will think you are rude. Your dad would NOT want that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 399243, member: 1233"] Asking the funeral home is a good thing. This site about probate seems to be more understandable than many: [url]http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/probing-probate-what-you-should-know.html[/url] As far as life insurance, not all policies will tell you if they have a policy and he died. If you are the only beneficiary, it is up to you to tell them that he died. It is one reason that there are so many people in those lists of unclaimed money - they still have to file for it even though the person is dead. If you are listed with your stepmom or anyone else and they file for it, it MUST be given to the beneficiaries even if she objects to the distribution. She literally has NO say in it. She may have problems if stuff is in both of their names. This site says that property passes to your spouse UNLESS you have children from a former marriage. Joint ownership does NOT protect this. Janet, I know things are tight right now, but if you can find an attorney who does a free consult, PLEASE go speak to them about this. If not, consider paying the fee for a short consultation. having both their names on property can mean she can clean out the accounts, but it doesn't mean that you don't inherit anything. It is in her best interest to tell you that there is nothing for you, that it is all joint property and goes to her. It may be true, but until you speak to an attorney you won't really know. Given what you have said about your dad, he would NOT want you to give up your interests in his estate. he would want you to treat his wife with respect and courtesy, but not to give up your part of his property. Otherwise, when she dies it will go to HER kids. Would he want all of his property to go to HER children, or did he want to leave some things to you? Many of the elderly do a lot of things to leave something to their kids, esp those who lived through the depression. It is likely that your father thought about this, esp as you already know he wanted you to have certain things. You have a right to see the list of what he "wrote down" and to the portion of the estate you are legally entitled to. If he put things in both their names to avoid estate taxes, he surely asked a lawyer how to do it. I would not trust that his list does not meet the definition of a will - in many states it would be considered legally binding even if an attorney did not write it or it did not use a certain format. As his child you are legally entitled to a portion of his property unless he specifically disinherited you. Don't give up your rights because you fear that she will think you are rude. Your dad would NOT want that. [/QUOTE]
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