If your father had a will that named you to inherit something, his executor (the person charged with rounding up his property and distributing it) should have contacted you when the will was probated -- generally a month or two after death. Anyone who has possession of a will is required, by law, to produce it after the will-writer has died.
To find out who inherits other assets—solely owned property for which no beneficiary has been formally named, such as a house—you'll need to consult state law. Every state has "intestate succession" laws that parcel out property to the deceased person's closest relatives. More …
Provide the full name and date of death of the deceased and ask the clerk whether a case has been opened in their name. If it has, you can view the case file. You may also be able to obtain a copy of the will from the clerk for a fee. Searching Online. Nowadays, in many counties, you can view probate court records online for free.
Mar 07, 2021 · 7. Not dealing with debts. We’ve gone over the profitable elements of an estate. But remember, an estate includes debts as well. According to the Federal Trade Commission, in the U.S., family ...
Intestacy laws often provide that if one of a group of heirs has died, his or her children inherit their parent's share. In other words, they take the place of the parent. According to this concept (called the "right of representation"), children (or, in some cases, grandchildren) stand in the place of their deceased parent when it comes to inheritance. Figuring out exactly who should inherit can be complicated depending on state law.
In many states, the required period is 120 hours, or five days. In some states, however, an heir need only outlive the deceased person by any period of time -- theoretically, one second would do.
If there are no children, the surviving spouse often receives all the property. More distant relatives inherit only if there is no surviving spouse and if there are no children. In the rare event that no relatives can be found, the state takes the assets.
To qualify as a surviving spouse, the survivor must have been legally married to the deceased person at the time of death. Usually, it's clear who is and isn't married. But not always.
The simple term "children" can mean different things to different people -- and under different laws. Many state statutes use the term "issue" to describe who should inherit in the absence of a will, meaning direct descendants of the deceased person (children, grandchildren, and so on). Adopted children.
A few states allow common-law marriages (in which a man and a woman who never went through a marriage ceremony can be considered legally married under certain circumstances). Generally, to create a common-law marriage, the couple must live together, intend to be married, and present themselves to the world as married.
Check your state's law to see whether your state recognizes common-law marriage and, if so, under what circumstances. Same- sex couples. After a long period of uncertainty, same-sex marriage is now legal in every U .S. state.
The executor is the person named in the will who administers the estate during the probate process, including having assets appraised, paying creditors, and distributing assets to the deceased's beneficiaries. If you know who the executor is, you can simply approach her personally and ask.
The executor begins the probate process by filing a petition in probate court in the deceased person's county of residence. Generally, when a probate case is opened, the will is one of the first documents filed and becomes a public record available for anyone to inspect.
Before the executor can distribute any assets from the estate, she must pay any outstanding debts and taxes. This process requires notifying the creditors and waiting a specified time period for them to submit their claims against the estate as well as preparing final income and estate or inheritance tax returns.
In most states, the court that handles probate cases is called the probate court, but in some states, it may be called surrogate's court or district court. You will most likely need to go to the appropriate court in the county where the deceased person lived.
People tend to start by sorting through each and every item they encounter as they go through the house, says Jacqui Denny, co-founder and chief development officer of estate sale marketplace Everything but the House. But this approach easily becomes a huge drain on time.
Denny says she sees this happen a lot: When we like something, we tend to value it more than the market does. For example, a costume jewelry fanatic may think an entire collection is uniformly valuable. But that’s not always so.
Maybe your parents came from more humble origins and you doubt they’ve collected anything worth a lot of money. You’d be surprised, Denny says. She recalls a client who assumed his mother didn’t have anything worth selling. But it turns out she left behind a 17th-century Korean bodhisattva statue in the attic, which later sold for $47,000.
Hey, you have friends who love vintage items and are volunteering to sort through your parents’ estate. That’s better than hiring someone, right? Unless they’re experts, perhaps not.
Most people consider selling first to dealers, but remember this: A jeweler will pay less for your jewelry than an ordinary consumer who just loves it. A jeweler wants to make a profit; a consumer just wants that lovely piece you have.
We’ve gone over the profitable elements of an estate. But remember, an estate includes debts as well.
Contact customer service and tell the representative that you're closing the account on behalf of a deceased relative. You'll need to provide a copy of the death certificate to do this, too. Keep records of accounts you close, and inform the executor of any outstanding balances on the cards.
But if your relative died at home, especially if it was unexpected, you'll need to get a medical professional to declare her dead. To do this, call 911 soon after she passes and have her transported to an emergency room where she can be declared dead and moved to a funeral home. If your family member died at home under hospice care, a hospice nurse can declare him dead. Without a declaration of death, you can't plan a funeral much less handle the deceased's legal affairs.
When someone you love dies, the job of handling those personal and legal details may fall to you. It's a stressful, bureaucratic task that can take a year or more to complete, all while you are grieving the loss. The amount of paperwork can take survivors by surprise.
Probate is the legal process of executing a will. You'll need to do this at a county or city probate court office. Probate court makes sure that the person's debts and liabilities are paid and that the remaining assets are transferred to the beneficiaries.
You'll need the help of others, ranging from professionals like lawyers or CPAs, who can advise you on financial matters, to a network of friends and relatives, to whom you can delegate tasks or lean on for emotional support.
If your loved one had a CPA, contact her ; if not, hire one. The estate may have to file a tax return, and a final tax return will need to be filed on the deceased's behalf. “Getting the taxes right is an important part of this,” Harbison says.
To track down all those who need to know, go through the deceased's email and phone contacts. Inform coworkers and the members of any social groups or church the person belonged to. Ask the recipients to spread the word by notifying others connected to the deceased. Put a post about the death on social media.
Ask them if they know about events in the deceased's life that would have required legal representation, like an arrest or a lawsuit. Follow up on any leads.
Signatures on deeds, divorce settlement agreements and affidavits are examples of documents that require notarization. If the deceased's signature was notarized, that means that he signed the document before a notary public.
Anyone who advised the deceased on financial matters or helped them manage their estate — such as an accountant, attorney, financial planner, banker, or business partners — might be able to track down their insurance policy, or at least tell you which company they purchased the policy from.
When the owner of a life insurance policy dies, their beneficiaries are paid a death benefit by the insurance company. However, insurance companies aren’t always notified when a policyholder has died, and in many cases, the beneficiary will know about the insured’s death before the life insurance company does. ...
If you’re unsure whether someone had a life insurance policy at all, there are a few places you can look for confirmation: 1 Banking records: It’s likely the deceased was still paying for their policy before they died, in which case you might find withdrawals for premiums in their financial statements. 2 Employer: If the deceased was employed when they died, they might have had subsidized group life insurance. Their former employer should be able to help. 3 Financial advisor or lawyer: Your loved one may have met with a professional to create a will or make other end-of-life plans. They should be aware of any existing coverage. 4 Member organizations: If your loved one was part of a union, veterans group, or other organization, the group may have provided life insurance options and may be able to inform you of an active policy. 5 Personal files: If the deceased kept important paperwork organized, you may be able to find policy paperwork or confirmation that they owned a policy in their files.
Keep in mind that term life insurance policies can last as long as 30 years, and whole life insurance policies can last the entire lifetime of the insured.
If you have access to the deceased person’s computer or phone, you might be able to find the policy stored on the device’s hard drive, in their email, or in a cloud storage service.
Many insurers now regularly compare their records against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, which records deaths of Social Security number (SSN) holders that are reported to the SSA by funeral homes or loved ones. Several U.S. states use the Death Master File (DMF) to identify lost policies.
Amanda Shih is an editor and licensed Life, Health, and Disability agent at Policygenius in New York City, specializing in life insurance cost and types of life insurance.
County tax assessors are legally required to keep current records regarding the property holdings of individuals residing within their geographical coverage area. Likewise, individuals owning property must register these assets with the county tax assessor.
Family members of a deceased individual can also browse mail received by the deceased in order to determine whether or not they may have been paying on a mortgage or loan. Keep in mind that certain legal statutes are active regarding examining another individual's postal correspondence.
A third option is to visit the local land records office, often referred to as the Office of the Assessor-Recorder. Here, individuals can find any documents that may have been filed at the time property was obtained, such as a property deed. This information may help provide additional insight in combination with the methods mentioned previously.