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Tag: Montgomery County

Effect of Signing an Executor Release in Montgomery County

Posted on Mon Aug 10, 2015, on Probate and Estate Administration

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: The lawyer serving as the executor for my mom’s Montgomery County estate has sent me documents called an Informal Account and a Receipt, Release, Refunding and Indemnification Agreement. If I sign this, do I waive my rights to ask any questions?

As a beneficiary of your mom’s estate, you have the legal right to have a Probate Attorney ask the executor to file an accounting with the Montgomery County Orphans’ Court. But, the cost of compiling the accounting will be paid out of estate funds. Which will reduce the pool available for distribution to the estate’s beneficiaries.

Klenk Law

Montgomery County Will Contest “Standing” – A Key Factor in Litigation

Posted on Fri Jul 24, 2015, on Will Contests and Will Challenges

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My neighbor promised to give me her Montgomery County house in her will. She died recently and her son, who did not talk to her for 10 years, has filed a will from the 1970s that leaves him everything. Can I challenge that will?

If I understand the facts correctly, your neighbor died and—to the best of your knowledge, her most recent Will was the one her Son filed with the Montgomery County Register of Wills. That Will is very old, but as far as you know, is the most recent Will she signed. Though she verbally promised to give you the house in Montgomery County, she failed to write a new Will.

Klenk Law

Where should I store my power of attorney in Montgomery County?

Posted on Thu Jul 23, 2015, on Power of Attorney

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I have signed a General Power of Attorney giving my daughter the power to act for me, but I don’t want her to have it yet. I only want her to have it when (and if) I become unable to care for myself. Should I keep it in my safe deposit box? We both live in Montgomery County, so she is close by.

The problem with putting your General Power of Attorney in your safe deposit box is that if you become incapacitated, your daughter will likely be unable to get into the box. If you have died, there is a process to open the box. But, that process is much more complex if you are still alive and incapacitated.

Klenk Law

Who pays the funeral bill in Montgomery County?

Posted on Mon Jul 20, 2015, on Probate and Estate Administration

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.

Klenk Law

When can I challenge a forged will in Montgomery County?

Posted on Fri Jul 17, 2015, on Will Contests and Will Challenges

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.

Klenk Law

Montgomery County Reimbursement Options for Relative Care

Posted on Wed Jul 8, 2015, on Probate and Estate Administration

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Before she died, my mother-in-law lived in my Montgomery County, Pennsylvania house and required around-the-clock care, which I provided. My husband’s brother and sister did not even visit. Now that she has died, her estate is being divided up between the children and they refuse to compensate me for all the work I did caring for their mother. Can I make a claim to be paid?

Your mother-in-law’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 must be paid.

Klenk Law

Can my creditors go after life insurance policy I disclaimed?

Posted on Mon Jul 6, 2015, on Estate Planning

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Last year, my mother died in Montgomery County and named me as beneficiary of her life insurance. As my children were the contingent beneficiaries, I decided to disclaim the inheritance, so the insurance money passed to my children. I was recently in a car accident. If I am sued, can the plaintiffs claim that life insurance money?

No one can force you to take an inheritance. If you properly disclaimed your interest in the life insurance, then you never received it.

Klenk Law

What’s the Statute of Limitations for Will Challenges in Montgomery County, PA?

Posted on Mon Jun 1, 2015, on Will Contests and Will Challenges

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My Grandfather, a resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, died of dementia 12 years ago. Shortly before his death, his will was changed giving everything to my aunt. We believed that my grandfather died broke, but now that my aunt died we found out that he had a joint account with her containing a large sum of money. The prior will states that I would receive one-fourth of his estate. Can I challenge the will?

First, a will challenge case alone based on incapacity or undue influence, even if successful, would not help you. You stated that the funds were in a joint account. A joint account passes outside of probate, meaning the will has no effect on the joint ownership.

Klenk Law

Exclusive Power of Appointment and Bad Faith in Montgomery County Orphans’ Court Litigation

Posted on Thu Mar 26, 2015, on Estate Litigation

Some form of legal action is the first thought of most children who are disinherited by their parents, especially when their perceived share of the parents’ estate goes to their siblings instead. If it is your intention to create an estate plan that disinherits a child or to challenge a plan that disinherits you, many options exist.

The Orphans’ Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania recently ruled on one parent’s strategy to disinherit in the Zucker Estate.

Klenk Law

Do lifetime transfers avoid the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax?

Posted on Sat Feb 21, 2015, on Estate Planning

My father wants to transfer a rental property he owns in Montgomery County into my name. If he does, will this gift avoid Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax?

As a Montgomery County resident, at your father’s death, all assets he leaves you at death (except life insurance) will be subject to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax at the 4.5% children’s rate. That includes all gifts made within one year of the date of his death.

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