Blog & Resources

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My father died in Montgomery County divorced from my mother and without a will. I have one sister who is younger than me. Am I responsible for his funeral bill?

Typically, when a person dies, the family will make arrangements with the funeral director to pay the bill themselves and then are reimbursed by the estate. Often, the funeral director will not take on the expense of the funeral without knowing they will be paid. Your question makes it sound as if you did not agree ahead of time to be responsible for the bill. If so, then you are not responsible to pay the bill, although I am sure your father’s funeral director would prefer that you pay that bill.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My partner said that he was going to leave me money in his will. But, at his death, a distant cousin of his filed a will and obtained letters with the Montgomery County Register of Wills that gave everything to that cousin. I think the will is a forgery. Is there a statute of limitations period for me to challenge the will?

Yes. If you had acted before the will was filed, you could have had your Montgomery Probate Attorney file a caveat with the Montgomery County Register of Wills. Doing this would have prevented the distant relative from obtaining Letters Testamentary until you had the chance to review the will. Also, this would have given you more time to decide if you were going to contest the will.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother, who lives in Gloucester County, New Jersey, is having serious health problems. She wants me to be able to use her general power of attorney, but it says I need a doctor’s note saying that she is incapacitated. Is that normal?

Your mother has a “Leaping” Power of Attorney, which at one time was the normal document that Gloucester County estate planning lawyers would prepare. A Leaping Power of Attorney gives the “Agent” the power to act for the person if-and only if-that person has become incapacitated and the Agent can secure a letter from the person’s doctor certifying that face. Without the doctor’s letter, the power of attorney is useless.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: During the final months of my dad’s life, I moved him into my house and provided nearly around-the-clock care for him. My sister, who lives nearby, hardly ever showed up. Now that we have filed the will, the estate is divided up equally between my sister and I. She refuses to recognize that I should be repaid for the time and expense that went into those last few months. Can I make a claim for reimbursement?

You can always make a claim as a creditor of the estate and you will get a hearing on the matter. But, if there is nothing in writing from your father about hiring you as a caretaker or about reimbursing you for the time and expense, then the court will likely find that you are not a creditor.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I formed a Revocable Living Trust to avoid New York probate and named my two sons as the co-successor trustees. It seemed a good idea at the time, but now they are not speaking to one another. Should I change the trust?

Many New Yorkers have formed Revocable Living Trusts to avoid the expensive New York probate process. For the trust to work properly, after your death, you need a successor trustee to step in to pay your final bills, taxes and to then distribute the trust assets to your heirs.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I am a beneficiary in a will that has been through probate. Unfortunately, the executrix is very untrustworthy, and I feel that she has been spending all the money in the deceased’s accounts. Neither she, nor her attorney, have provided me with any accounting of any accounts. Is there any way that I could freeze the accounts before all the money is spent?

Executors in Pennsylvania are given a great deal of power to act on their own, without court supervision. This works well when the Executor is honest, as the estate can be managed less expensively. If the Executor is untrustworthy, though, this system can fail unless the beneficiaries enforce their interests.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My husband died a resident of New Jersey and we owned a house together in Atlantic County which is in both of our names. He has two children from a prior marriage. Do his children get any ownership in the house?

The answer will depend on how you both owned the house together. You wrote that you owned your house “in both names,” which could mean you owned the house in any of three different ways.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: It is important to me that at my death I am cremated. I find the idea of a being buried in a casket ridiculous. The problem is that my wife will not carry out this wish. She wants us buried next to each other in her New Jersey family plot. How do I make sure my wishes are respected?

If you do not make any specific statement about final burial arrangements in your will, then the matter could end up in litigation-with your wife’s opinion being the one that the court finally enforces.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: How do I make sure the inheritance that I leave my daughter passes to my grandchildren at her death?

If you leave your daughter an inheritance outright, then-at her death-it will be available to satisfy any creditors or law suits she might have. It might even end up in her husband’s name, rather than passing to your grandchildren.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My husband died several years ago, so I now own the family house. My children get along fairly well, but they should not own this house together. It would cause conflict. There is little else that I own, so I want to make sure that the house is sold and that there is no fight about it. How do I do that?

Two things come to mind.

First, in circumstances like this, I will place specific language in the will instructing the executor to sell the property for fair market value. A child may buy the property, but it must be without any loan from the estate. Therefore, the child is treated like any other buyer.