Does anyone know aboute probate and wills?

[ironbeck]

My dad passed last night and I'm in WV, and the rest of the fam is in another state. I'm the youngest of five siblings, and well with out finding a will one brother has already had my father cremated, my dads lawyer who said he didn't know if their was a will. He would check his computer tue(memorial weekend) and also go threw my dad paper work to look for life insurance and well if their is no will has does this get settled?
If any one has experience in this matter pls feel free to enlighten me, tks

[austinite]

ironbeck, terribly sorry to hear this brother. May he rest in peace. Best wishes to you and the family, hope everyone stays strong.

[diesel101]

Sorry for you're loss,stay strong.

[ironbeck]

I appreciate the condolences.

[Lunk1]

So sorry to hear. Hopefully this doesn't cause animosity between family. It often does.

[Lunk1]

Distributing an Estate Without a Will

[canesfan804]

Sorry to hear that man.

[ironbeck]

Distributing an Estate Without a Will

lol, I read up on that this morning, but tks lunk. Really looking to hear from any probate lawyers or your personal experience with this matter.

[Times Roman]

sorry for your loss.

I'm a CPA and have put together a few wills and trusts in my time. But that was many years ago when I was in public accounting....

...unfortunately, I've forgotten more than I currently know, and am not comfortable giving advice on the subject matter.

[SexySweetheart]

sad sad news Ironbeck. sorry for your loss. Hope you find the answers you seek... just wondering, are you in the military by chance? if so contact JAG and they can help you out <3

[lovbyts]

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like it's going to be a miss. At this point who ever is close can/will raid the house and take anything of value. What is left will have to be sold via a probate auction or if there is a appointed administrator then the courts/attorneys will have to take care of it all such as selling the land.

It's really to bad that people dont have a will since they are simple and cheap for the most part. Personally from experience being the appointed administrator is a PITA.

I was lucky and had time to get things in order. I forced my mom to go through a list of everything she wanted to go to each person and made sure that's what happened.. No one was allowed to come in and just start taking things. But I also had to take over all financial records and get the house/property in proper order to sell which meant a few repairs and a lot of little work.

[ironbeck]

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like it's going to be a miss. At this point who ever is close can/will raid the house and take anything of value. What is left will have to be sold via a probate auction or if there is a appointed administrator then the courts/attorneys will have to take care of it all such as selling the land.

It's really to bad that people dont have a will since they are simple and cheap for the most part. Personally from experience being the appointed administrator is a PITA.

I was lucky and had time to get things in order. I forced my mom to go through a list of everything she wanted to go to each person and made sure that's what happened.. No one was allowed to come in and just start taking things. But I also had to take over all financial records and get the house/property in proper order to sell which meant a few repairs and a lot of little work.

Tks for your input

[DNoMac]

I'm very sorry for your loss ironbeck. As if dealing with this loss isn't hard enough, it's even more difficult when you have to gather the assets and pay off creditors of your father's estate. I'll do my best to shed some light.

The laws governing this issue will vary state-by-state, so my knowledge is limited to the general application of the laws governing wills. In order to execute a valid will, your father must have followed testamentary formalities (written will, signed by him, signed by witnesses, etc). If he did not carefully follow these formalities, it is unlikely anything your father's lawyer finds on his computer will be accepted by the court. That said, you are still protected. All states have intestate succession statutes. These statutes apply to a person's estate who either executed an invalid will or did not leave a will at all. The general rule is that the assets will go to the decedent's heirs beginning with his issue first (you and your siblings unless his spouse is still alive). If the intestate succession statute ends up being applied, it is likely that the estate will be distributed in equal shares to all of the siblings (after creditors are paid off).

Depending on the size of your father's estate, you should be able to hire a probate attorney for a reasonable fee to administer it. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.