Blog & Resources

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother named me executor, but I don’t get along so well with my brother and I am afraid he will sue me. Can I be personally liable as the executor?

The executor is a fiduciary, owning a duty of care to the beneficiaries. If your brother is an heir, he has the right to review all actions you have taken as executor and, if he feels any action you took reduced his inheritance, as the judge to surcharge you (fine you) so he receives the correct inheritance.

In many ways, being executor is a thankless task.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mom died a resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and named her girlfriend as beneficiary of her life insurance policy and pension. I was listed as a secondary beneficiary. Can my mother give her life insurance and pension to her girlfriend instead of her children?

In Pennsylvania there is no requirement that a mother leave her children any part of her probate estate. There is also no requirement that your mother had to leave her life insurance to a child. Pensions may have their own sets of rules about where the pension benefits have to pass at death, but these rules usually protect a surviving spouse, not children.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My father became ill the year before his death. I think that in the confusion his Will was thrown away. What if we can never find my father’s Will?

If you can locate a copy of the will, and if it can be shown that your father did not wish for it to be revoked, then the copy might be accepted. If you cannot even find a copy of the Will, then your father will be deemed to have died without a Will, and his estate can be opened with the Register of Wills as an Administration.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother became ill and came to my house in Bucks County. Two weeks later, she died. In the rush to get things done, I didn’t notice that the funeral director mistakenly put Bucks County as her residence rather than Collier County, Florida. Her will gives everything to me, does it matter if I file the will in Bucks County? How do I correct the death certificate?

The county listed on the death certificate does matter, as the Register of Wills of Bucks County and the Surrogate in Collier County will use the death certificate as proof of what County your mother resided in at death. This matters to you because if she was a resident of Collier County, Florida, there is no Inheritance Tax.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My wife passed recently. We own a house together in Philadelphia in both names. She died with no other assets aside from our joint checking account. We have three children from our marriage and she has three children from her prior marriage. Does her half of the house go to my stepchildren?

First, Pennsylvania has no requirement that you leave your children any portion of your estate. So if your wife had a will, she could leave her entire estate to you and the children would have no claim. Assets can also be left at death by contract.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I was surprised to learn that my uncle named me executor of his estate, but now I think I know why. My uncle was a private guy. In opening up a storage locker he had rented, I found what I could only describe as a mountain of gay porn. My uncle was a single man who never came out. I think he knew that I would handle this discovery discreetly, as his sisters are very homophobic. If they knew about this locker they would be really upset. I was going to just dump the locker contents, but a friend told me that this stuff might be worth as much as $20,000. As executor of my uncle’s estate, what do I do with his mountain of gay porn?

As executor, you have a duty to gather together estate assets for the beneficiaries. The porn you found is an asset, which might be worth a substantial amount. If you dump it into the trash and the beneficiaries find out and complain, you could then be found responsible for a ,000 loss, be “surcharged,” and have to put your own money into the estate.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Before she died, my mother lived in my Philadelphia home and required around-the-clock care, which I provided. My brother and sister did not even visit. Now that she has died, her estate is being divided up between us and my siblings refuse to compensate me for all the work I did caring for our mom. Can I make a claim to be paid?

Your mother’s estate is to be divided up between the heirs as her will dictates, or through the rules of intestacy if she had no will. Prior to the division of the assets, all creditors will be paid. If you have no agreement showing that you were doing the work for a fee, it will be difficult to prove that you are a creditor.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Does the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax include my mother’s antiques?

If your mother died a Pennsylvania resident, then the estate must pay the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax on the fair market value of all of her taxable assets, including her antiques.

If these antiques are passing to you, the tax rate will be 4.5%, due within nine months of her death.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: One of four siblings is now deceased since death of our parents. Do the deceased sibling’s three children or his surviving spouse inherit his share of the estate?

There are two different answers depending on the order of the deaths.

If your sibling died first, and then the surviving parent died without a will, then that parent’s probate estate is divided up under the New Jersey intestacy rules which give 1/4th share to each surviving child and a 1/4th share to be split among the deceased child’s children. Your sibling’s spouse receives nothing.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I am named as the executor in my mother’s will, but my family does not get along at all. Already, disagreements about the sale of land have become heated. If I agreed to serve as executor, can I be sued if my family has disagreements?

As the executor, you are a fiduciary, owing the beneficiaries a duty to act in their best interests. You will be given broad powers. To counter these powers, the beneficiaries are given the right to Petition the Orphan’s Court to review your actions and, if the court would find that any action of yours diminished their inheritance, to surcharge you (fine you) to make them whole.