Probate Questions

[Eric P]

Can the court appoint an attorney to the estate? One that my sister nor I have to pay for? But the estate is responsible for?

[jerrymrc]

An estate in probate has to deal with unsecured debts.

I guess because the ones I have had a dealing with had little to nothing it was never an issue. By the time what little was there was given away the CC's were not an issue.

Sorry for the mis-information.

[spqrzilla]

Can the court appoint an attorney to the estate? One that my sister nor I have to pay for? But the estate is responsible for?

To do what? Attorney's fees are a priority expense for an estate. Your issue is whether or not the estate is economically worth administration.

[kidicarus13]

Run, run far and fast. "Split the rest 50/50" is a pipe dream. RUN FOREST!

[Dave]

My experience with probate and wills comes from my finance degree, not law. But, from what my professor said is that if there is real estate, but enough debts to cover more than the property is worth it's better to grab anything from the house the heirs want and let the creditors battle it out over the real property as that's about all they would be interested in auctioning off. Unfortunately, her brother sounds like a real a-hole and could tie up the probate process if you and your sister try to refi the house out of the probate. Consult with a lawyer though, even if you have to pay a small consultation fee to get your options.

[Eric P]

Ok, this is what we were told during a consultation:

My sister and I are the only living heirs with a claim on her estate based on her will. My dad forfeited his claim and duty as personal rep.

We need to open an account for the estate and have a FIEN assigned.

The priority of paying debts is:
1. Taxes, which there are none.
2. Attorney Fees - after the consultation fee, I hope there are none
3. Funeral Expenses - which I paid ~$10k
4. Secured Debt - only the HELOC 95-100% of the estimated value of the home. Utilities are being paid and current.
5. Unsecured Debt - hospital bills and CCs

We were told we could just assume or refinance the heloc in my sister's name and that takes care of the secured debt. The value of the house is about equivalent to the new mortgage. Have already talked to the bank and they are willing and ready to do this. He said my sister can not refinance the loan for more than the heloc value plus closing costs (ie. attorney fees), or other debtors would be able to claim the extra value until the probate is closed. But there is a little buffer since I would be the next in line for any assets to pay for the funeral and probate costs.

The car would be given to me or sold to pay for part of the funeral costs and for the probate filling costs. Its a 2002 high mileage car with some body damage. Not worth much according to KBB.

The savings bonds would be given to me or cashed to pay for part of the funeral costs. Less than $1k

Her 2013 tax refunds would be given to me to pay for part of the funeral costs.

All other claims from unsecured debtors would be denied, since it is likely the estate would have zero value after paying the heloc and reimbursing me for the funeral costs and for the probate filling costs.

He said I could also charge for the time I spend dealing with all this. Not sure how much I could charge per hour though. What is reasonable?

This sounds a lot simpler than when I first started looking into it, which likely means I am missing something.

Thoughts?

Thank You.

Its been a tough month and Christmas