How do I Petition for Guardianship In Philadelphia?

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: How do I petition for guardianship of my brother? “My mother has taken care of my severely autistic little brother his whole life in Philadelphia. She can no longer do so and wants me to take on the responsibility. How do I become my brother’s legally recognized Guardian?”

My Dad passed away this month. When he died, I found out that I was still on his Delaware County apartment lease as a cosigner. The lease was signed in 2011. I had moved out in 2013, letting the management company know that I wanted off the lease. When I asked if the management company had anything for me to sign, they replied ‘no’. When I had moved out, my Dad had let his brother, his son and his grandson move in. They are still there and the landlord’s been asking them for money for each day they are there past the end of last month. When my Dad died, I just thought I would be morally obligated to remove my Dad’s property and clean. Instead, I am getting a feeling that the landlord wants to hold me responsible for damages, utilities, and possible future rent. My Dad had nothing and I am a stay at home mom of special needs children.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My friend who lives in Philadelphia asked me to pay off his bills from his checking account if he passes away. Am I able to use that as proof or do I need something signed saying so?

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My mother named me the Personal Representative of her estate. I am happy to serve, but I have a family and a job, so I just don’t have the time to do all the work. I want to hire an estate attorney to help me, but I am unclear as to how they are paid. Do I have to pay the attorney from my own money?

Every Personal Representative in New Jersey has the right to hire an attorney to assist them. These attorneys are paid out of the estate’s funds, not out of the Personal Representative’s pocket. An experienced probate lawyer will have a staff available to economically help you with the probate process, the sale of estate assets and protecting you from personal liability.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My Dad passed away this month. When he died, I found out that I was still on his Gloucester County lease as a cosigner. The lease was signed in 2011. I had moved out in 2013, letting the management company know that I wanted off the lease. When I asked if the management company had anything for me to sign, they replied ‘no’. When I moved out, my Dad had let his brother, his brother’s son, and his brother’s grandson move in. They are still there and the landlord knows of the situation, asking them for money for every day they have been there past May. At best, when my Dad died I thought I would be morally obligated to remove my Dad’s property and clean. Instead, the feeling I am getting is that the landlord wants to hold me responsible for damages, utilities, and possible future rent. Dad had nothing and I am a stay-at-home mom of special needs children.

You have mentioned a number of potential issues. First, the only person who has the authority to act for your dad after he has died is the Personal Representative of his estate (if he had a Will) or the Administrator of his estate (if he had no Will). It sounds like your dad (or his estate) owes the landlord some money.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My Dad passed away this month. When he died, I found out that I was still on his Camden County apartment lease as a cosigner. The lease was signed in 2011. I had moved out in 2013, letting the management company know that I wanted off the lease. When I asked if the management company had anything for me to sign, they replied ‘no’. When I had moved out my Dad had let his brother, his son and his grandson move in. They are still there and the landlord’s been asking them for money for every day they are there past the end of last month. When my Dad died, I just thought I would be morally obligated to remove my Dad’s property and clean. Instead, I am getting a feeling that the landlord wants to hold me responsible for damages, utilities, and possible future rent. Dad had nothing and I am a stay at home mom of special needs children.

You have mentioned a number of potential issues. First, the only person who has the authority to act for your dad after he has died is the executor of his estate (if he had a will) or the administrator of his estate (if he had no will). It sounds like your dad or his estate owes the landlord some money.

In this recurring piece, I’d like to inform you about recent tax news that can affect or guide your estate planning. In this edition, we’ll cover two topics: inflation rates and the gift of tuition.

Addressing your blended LGBT family in your estate plan is a good idea. Though you may not wish to treat your Partner’s children the same way you treat your biological children, by at least mentioning them or giving them a small gift you may avoid hurt feelings and potential conflict.

After the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which found unconstitutional the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that defined “marriage” as a union between a man and woman, and “spouse” as only a person of the opposite sex, and the decision in Garden State Equality v. Dow, where the New Jersey courts found that the New Jersey Constitution required same sex marriage, New Jersey residents can enter into same-sex marriages and same-sex marriages from other states will be recognized as valid in New Jersey.

Estate planning is the process of making a plan from today until your death, and if done correctly, makes plans that can benefit your heirs long after your death.

Many people mistakenly believe estate planning only involves having a will drafted by a Philadelphia estate planning attorney. While having a will is an important step, a will by itself might not be able to address all of your unique tax and family issues. A proper estate plan involves an examination of your family, any other persons or charities that you may want to benefit at your death, as well as all your assets.