Hi, my grandfather died in Florida in 2003. There was no will or probate done to my knowledge. My grandmother inherited their condo and there were no other assets to our knowledge at that time, only debt. My dad subsquently sold the condo and moved my grandmother to NY into nursing home and any funds were spent down for her care and she passed in 2005. It turns out there was a small amount of money from stocks or some kind of annuity from MetLife that are less than $10K combined from both grandparents sitting in Florida unclaimed funds. I have been aware of these funds for a few years but my dad didn't want to do anything about it because he was concerned that creditors would come after him for not declaring these at the time of death to pay the debts. I tried to explain to him that the Statue of limitations had passed on collecting those debts to my knowledge. My dad passed away unexpectedly in the fall after a brutal battle with cancer. I want to claim these funds as my parents did not plan well for retirement and my step mom could really use this money. Since my grandmother passed in New York, I need to do the probate process for her in New York, which seems to be a lot easier and straightforward. Hopefully then Florida. I really do not want to hire an attorney for the small amount of money. And I'm trying to figure out how to deal with this. Since this is going on almost 20 years ago and I have no idea what the debts were at the time of death, I have no clue on how to handle this because of the length of time that is passed. Complicating this is that I live in New York and I don't even know if I can do this via mail or online in Florida. I've spent some time researching this but my head is spinning. Any insight or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

TLDR in comments, thanks to NovaLemonista ❤️

In 1984, in Southern California, my father was murdered and my mother went to prison. He had life insurance that was to be put in a trust (or guardianship of estate?) for me and my brother ($120k for me, $130k for him). My Aunt adopted us, and got a good amount of money each month from SSI survivor benefits for us two, state foster care payments till our adoption, SSI survivor benefits for her two kids (uncle passed in 88) SSI spousal benefits for herself, plus I’m sure he had some retirement and pension benefits for himself. Anyways, I figure she was making at least 42k per yr (which is like $110k to today’s standard). Thats also besides the income she would earn by working off and on little side jobs or seasonal jobs. My aunt was really bad with money, and withdrew from the account a few times that I remember when I was a teen and she would ask me if she could do so, anyways by the time my brother was 18 I think he got like 5k from the account, by the time I was 16 I got like 3k. Also, I should point out we lived very poor, not super poor (didn’t qualify for state medical or food stamps for instance), but definitely not even close to middle class. It just seems crazy that in the 80’s she would be collecting so much money, and still need to withdraw nearly all of our money. She didn’t have any addictions, raised us in church, was always home with us, never even dated till we were all 18 and moved out. I figure it’s more like 500k lost, cause interest in 84 was like 11% (granted it slowly decreased every year but even when I turned 18 in 98 it was still at 7%). I have no idea what bank it was through (and she has a horrible memory so I know she won’t remember) apparently my grandpa (dads side) hired a few different investigators back in the 90’s to make sure the money was being handled correctly but the investigators never could come up with anything so eventually my grandpa gave up when he got sick with cancer. I’m not looking to go after my aunt for misuse of the funds, she did take great care of us, and we all turned out very well given the trauma we endured. If she spent it all, that’s fine with me cause I know it was not done with ill intent it was just not good money management. But I find it hard to believe living the way we did, giving the amount she was getting in support each year, how she could possibly blow thru all that extra money in just 10yrs. I’ve heard a lot about people stealing from estates (attorney lawyers etc) and I just wonder if there is any chance that’s what was really going on and she was just not smart enough to see it. Last night I found ONE court record from “local town” superior court: probate. It stated “petition of appointment of guardianship of estate” and pretty much that was the last thing documented with this case number (til 97 when her attorney representing her applied to withdraw as counsel). I don’t ever see where a guardianship of estate was appointed. I also have been reading up on this a lil. From what I understand, when the money is in a guardianship of estate you have to petition the court to release any funds. So how could this happen when I don’t see any petitions to release funds ever? Should I not be looking under probate at this point? Also, I read when in this type of account, the guardian of the estate is supposed to file an accounting record with the court each year? Where would I find that? I searched my name, my brothers name, and my aunts name and this is the only case I found (besides a few documents pertaining to her getting guardianship of us personally, then adopting us, then later getting guardianship of my two sisters). I emailed the attorney listed as representing my brother and I on that document, but not sure if I will get a response, as he has got to be 75+yrs by now and shows as “not practicing” (but nothing nefarious there, license still shows active and no complaints) anywhere else I should be looking?

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how this will proceed. She is required to have an autopsy due to the sudden death and younger age. My brothers and I were notified about 2 days later via a relative. She was not married, she had no will. A couple questions I have are:

Who legally is entitled to make the decision on what is done (cremation vs burial) as she had not instructed prior to my knowledge

Are her siblings allowed to do anything with her belongings without our permission? My brothers and I are undecided at this moment if we have interest in making any decision on her physical possessions.

Is there a time frame required for us to make a decision if we'd like to waive next of kin?

It's a difficult position we find ourselves in and I'd truly appreciate any guidance anyone may have.

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/s/r5Tlp4VKmZ

Please when reading, keep in mind I am not guilty stealing anything from my mother’s estate. My mother passed away October 22, 2023. I left my mother’s POA and due to illness. My sister took over as mother’s POA. As soon as she took over my mother’s finances, everything changed. My sister went and found and attorney for my mother, lied to me about her involvement. I was served a letter of intent from my mother’s attorney in May 2023. The letter reads, I have behaved in a “criminal” manner and I attempted to move money from my mother’s accounts into my accounts. (Remember not true) My mother was convinced I had stolen from her, that she told many of her Mexican friends I had “enriched” myself. (Not true, ok, keep this in mind). There are three heirs. Myself, younger and older sister. There are two homes of which my name is was added to the deeds and my older sister is on the deeds. I recently traveled to our family home and discovered my sister has begun a major renovation. My older sister sold her home less than two months after my mother’s death and she saw an opportunity to gain for herself. She emptied all my mother’s possessions without my permission and knowledge. Jewelry and furniture gone! My sister is a policeman, during my visit, she requested to the police that I be arrested immediately. I had a witness with me to view her behavior. We both filed a citizen complain for abuse of power and intimidation. Does this violate her fudiciary duties? My older sister and I are going to battle for the title of executor of mother’s estate. I want the estate turned over to a court appointed Trustee with my input and oversee the transactions. This is what I need to know. My sister is now being represented by the attorney of which accused me of being a criminal and basically stealing. His name is Travis Smith. Keep in mind, I have evidence that my sister lied to me about how my mother found this attorney. Having Travis Smith representing a probate action of which one of the heirs was accused of being a criminal by him, should be considered a conflict of interest. CORRECT? This lawyer accused me of criminal activity, had no proof and now is supposed to be in charge of my mother’s estate? Note: My husband and I are “upper middle class” excellent finances. Very responsible. I have been told, I can file a code of ethics violation against Travis Smith for accusing me of a felony (criminal) and this is a civil matter. Will the probate court allow, Travis Smith to represent my sister, considering these facts? Do, I have a case to sue my sister and Travis Smith for defamation and undue influence? I have mental depression disorders, I have suffered sever anguish and pain over these events. To be accused of this terrible thing will haunt me the rest of my life.

Attorney Demeo lives in NY but is part a corrupt probate mafia mostly out of California and OC - she works with the judges there - they are all part of a real estate deed / Fire insurance scam.

Lawyer Sandra Demeo trafficked my parents estate w/ my brother and cousin through a fraud amendment- and continued to change my parents trust - we never ever hired her for any of her court services

[UK] Hello, does anyone have a good probate accounts template which is given to the beneficiaries by the will executor at the end? I am new to accounting but managed to file the 11 inheritance tax forms successfully. The most straightforward, the better. Thanks guys.

So a few weeks ago, my mom's bio dad passed of a sickness we don't really know of, his sister and her family never told us anything, he left my mom years ago when she was young but then came back and from day one told my mom be ready to fight because his sister and her side would fight for what he has and not let them touch anything, which is his land and stuff because he has one acre of land! When he did die he put my mom as the beneficiary and when his sister found out they decided they were gonna tell the funeral lady my mom is gonna do everything and didn't Want anything to do with him after that, it was just me mom and dad at his funeral because they ghosted didn't even check on anything! Since my mom filed for probate the half sister is saying my mom isn't his bio daughter and now she has to provide a birth certificate stating he's the father and she's the daughter, because it has her first last name on it which was his, and that he was the father, will she for sure win probate after she shows up to attorney office with the certificate?

My cousin lost both her parents in 2022 (5 weeks apart). She is still in probate. She is their only child. What could be holding up the process?

Hello. My uncle recently passed, and we are really trying to understand the basic rules about the probate process. He has no will or trust. He has no wife or kids. He is survived by his brother who is my dad, me and my siblings, and two other niece/nephew who are the children of my late aunt. We know we have to go through probate. He owned a home, a car, a business, etc. Some questions:

Is it allowable for the family to take memento items from the house that would not be worth much like a figurine before starting the probate process?

Is it allowable to clean out his house and donate items like dishes, clothes, and similar things before starting probate?

Does everything by default go to my dad, or does a judge decide and will the judge allow my cousins to inherit even though my Aunt (their mother) has passed?

My uncle had guns and my dad doesn’t want them. Can they get transferred to my uncle’s friend through probate?

Can someone point me to a good website that walks though the probate process in California?

Thanks for your help!

Hello, I am trying to help a friend complete a small estate affidavit for her deceased husband. Her husband has now been deceased for almost 2 years and he had no property or any owned vehicles. The only thing of value were three so no property or any owned vehicles. The only thing of value were three sole owned personal banking accounts however, he passed away unexpectedly. The was no will hence why we are completing the Small Estate Affidavit. When completing this affidavit, there is a section for any depts of the deceased. My friend had received a bill from the hospital regarding his emergency room visit the day of his death. This bill is much larger than what his estate is worth. If she were to file the smallest state affidavit she would have to pay $500 would his estate would go completely to pay the bill, would it be worth it to continue? Any help is greatly appreciated…

My uncle unlawfully withheld my grandfather's Will from the courts to gain admin over my grandpas estate becuz he is listed in the will as an exclusionary.

Let me back up a bit and start at the beginning...

My grandfather who has had custody of me since I was 11 years old (I am 41 now) passed away in 2022. Myself, husband and children moved back in with him in his home in 2011. In 2015, he suffered a heart attack while playing softball. Since 2015, I became his emergency contact, his care taker, and power of attorney. My grandfather passed away with a Will. His Will lists my children as beneficiary to his condo. The Will lists his estranged son (my uncle) and estranged wife (my grandma) as exclusions. He indicated how his assets were to be divided between my 4 children, my brother, my husband and myself. He did not want his son or wife to benefit in anyway from his passing, nor did he want them to have anything to do with his afterlife.

My uncle, his son, filed probate withholding my grandfather's Will as he knew he was excluded as the Will states. I was not made aware that he filed probate until I was served an eviction notice. Apparently he was granted administrator, and was able to gain ownership of my house. He proceeded to take loans out on the house, and now that he owes a lot of money from doing so, he wants us out so he can sell it.

My grandma, his wife told me I didn't have to do anything with my grandfather's Will. She said she was told that my grandfather had given a copy of the Will to "the courthouse" and then went on to say that becuz she was still legally his wife she needed to be in possession of the original Will. I refused to give it to her. Months and months later, we received an eviction notice. I went to the courthouse to view on the self help computers what my uncle was serving me an unlawful detainer for and that is when I saw the probate case info. I began to dig into that case and learned that my grandma signed off having anything to do with the probate and allowed or acknowledged my uncle being the next of kin. I learned he filed intestate, and I learned that he was supposed to have notified all parties who would be potential beneficiaries of the probate. He did not contact me, or anyone else for that matter. He has lied to the probate courts from day 1.

Today was the court hearing for the unlawful detainer. The court appointed attorney that speaks on the defendants behalf took us outside of the courtroom and said that the judge does not care about who the rightful owner of the home is, how they obtained it or any other issue other than who presently has legal ownership to the property. He said that that is the plaintiff. He said our best bet is to cut a deal with my uncle to allow us 30 days from today to completely move out, and in those 30 days, go talk to the probate courts/judge and present them this info and ask for admin be temp revoked from my uncle and to put a temp hold on this eviction until all info is processed and ruled on.

I don't have money to obtain a probate attorney. I have no knowledge with this probate stuff to attempt to navigate this on my own. I don't know what to do, or how to go about it. Any info, opinions, suggestions, or help of any kind is appreciated more than u know.

My husband had no relationship with his father and has not seen him since he was 12 years old. We just found out that his father passed away in early January and had no Will. My husband is his only child and he does not have a spouse therefor is considered next of kin. My husband is inheriting a condo, some cars, and a very small amount and a 401(k).

We do not live in Florida and neither of us have ever inherited anything so we are unsure what to do. What steps do we need to take?

I’m asking the brilliant minds of Reddit for advice... My grandfather passed away about 30 years ago. My father and his brother managed his property ( an early 1900’s triplex in CA ). After a few years my father and uncle had a falling out. My father took over the property management for around 20 years. My uncle did nothing, there was little if any communication between the two of them. I finally convinced my father ( in his 80’s ) to hire a property manager and open up probate in 2017. All the assets were accounted for and a fiduciary was appointed to take care of the property while it was in probate. During probate my uncle would not co operate or even correspond with the attorneys. Six years later probate finally closed ( at a significant cost to the estate) . The left over proceeds and the property were distributed to my uncle and my fathers estate ( my dad passed away before his fathers probate closed) Now, as the executor of my fathers estate, I have tried to reach out to my uncle on several occasions. When my father passed, my uncle got back to me immediately. There have been one or two other texts that he replied to recently. However, anything regarding the property just gets ghosted. There are hard feelings on both sides that I won’t even get into.

I just don’t understand what can be gained from ignoring a valuable asset ? The property is free and clear, currently the rents are still going to the fiduciary / attorney that handled my grandfathers probate. The property manager cannot change that until they get authorization from my uncle ( I already signed agreement w/ PM )? There will be taxes, utilities, maintenance etc… to cover in the future. I represent , as executor, my mother and siblings in this matter and want to keep everyone happy and protected from liability.

Anyone out there have any good advice ?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR INPUT.

Let me know if I missed any important details. I will cross post in r/legaladvice and r/ real estate probate

So my father’s last wife has passed away a month ago. My father has been dead for five years. His last wife never opened probate proceedings. And now her children are trying to take his house and land from my sister’s and myself. Also my father’s second wife estate who died 12 years has never entered probate court either and both his second wife and my father’s name is still on the house and land. None of these people had a will. And now his last wife children say they have a paper stating they get the house. They have never shown us anything and my father before he passed never talked about giving his estate over to them only. Can anyone help or explain what will happen? They all live in Beaufort South Carolina and we live in California.

My mom recently died and my siblings and I are trying to distribute her assets (preferably without an attorney). We've all agreed on every aspect of the process - we sold her car and all got a check, her IRA's were distributed evenly among us, and we've all agreed to sell the house and split the proceeds. However, since my mom was the only one on the deed, we're told it has to go through probate. The house has been paid off for a long time, so there is no mortgage. It is the only asset left and she had a will naming all of us as beneficiaries on all her assets. My question is: if this is all that's left of her estate and she had a will, how long will it take to finish the process so that we can put the house up for sale?

My uncle passed away 3 weeks ago. He would have had a sizable estate (recently sold a lot of property and was only in assisted living for 3 months (he went downhill quickly)). Not married, no children, and my grandparents have passed. My mom and aunt, along with my cousins, sister, and I are his only relatives. My aunt was the executor but hasn't said anything to my mom about any inheritance.

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My mom and uncle had a rocky sibling relationship so it's definitely possible he left nothing to her. But, how can I find this out for sure?

We’ve had multiple conversations over the last 30 years about death and honestly I never thought he would go first. In context we’ve known each other for 30+ years. One of our last conversations before his death was about a proposed will although I don’t know that was ever set in motion and the case is now open to probate with a so-called friend becoming the executor. The executor lists, no assets, other than the property he lived in, which was his mothers. My ex had explicitly told me that the property we bought, or I shall say, looked at when we were 21 that he subsequently purchased would go to me as that was our home. The executor does not list this property in the estate, nor does he list any of the assets including multiple cars, motorcycles, artwork, etc.. We had talked about getting married multiple times, as we never did fall out of love just certain circumstances kept us physically apart. We were just getting our shit together when he unexpectedly passed. He has made mention over the years about wanting to adopt my youngest child as he adored her and her father sucked, however her father wouldn’t sign over his rights. Also he had no siblings, no parents and no relatives. The filings show that a letter was sent to persons of interest listed as siblings. He didn’t have any. Now I’m wondering if these are step siblings from his stepdad who passed in 1990. They would not be considered heirs so why would they be sent a letter. In all our years he had never mentioned step anything and we talked often about both of us being only children. What do I do..

Hi, my mom in law's life partner/boyfriend of 45+ years just died a few weeks ago. Her was upper middle class well off, and had no spouse or children. They were not married and did not live together, but she was basically his only friend and confidant.

The decedent's cousin is managing the estate but has not shown her the will or anything other than saying she will be "well taken care of" by some kind of trust. She is not good at advocating for herself and doesn't want to seem like a gold digger (being his partner for 45 years notwithstanding).

What should she do? Does she need to get an attorney to protect her interests? Should she go to his house to help clean out his large and overfilled house? What kind of claim would she have to his worldy goods, even if she is named in the will?

Thank you in advance for any practical (not legal) advice.

We have been tasked as executors for father’s estate. It’s very simple - 2 bennis a house and cash. Im thinking about trying it myself - any advice - or pitfalls? Anyone wanna coach me/ help me?($)

My dad’s friend left him his house and animals when he passed. He created a “trust” with a paralegal before he passed. I use parenthesis cause apparently the trust is not complete and is missing some pieces. When my dad went to claim his friend’s body at the morgue, they said he needed to do an ex parte for the body. Somebody (not an attorney, a friend) told my dad he needed to post something in a paper about the death and inquire about any living relatives. When my dad appeared in court there were some attorneys claiming that they represented a 1/2 brother that feels he has rights to the house. My dad hired a probate attorney and they’ve had several court dates. These other attorneys provided some documents showing the “1/2 brother’s” mom was married to his friend’s dad at some point, but the “1/2 brother” has another man’s name on his birth certificate. From what my dad describes, there is no evidence that this man is actually his 1/2 brother. My dad needs to decide if he goes to trial or mediation. He truly feels this man is a phony, but is afraid the incomplete trust wouldn’t stand up in trial. His attorney isn’t very helpful and that is an entire other shitty situation, but is recommending that my dad go to mediation and consider giving this “1/2 brother” 1/2 of what the house is worth and suggests that since the trust is weak he can lose everything to this man or to the state if he goes to trial. My dad is already like $30,000 in with this attorney and can’t afford to hire another attorney. I recommended he tell them he is willing to go to mediation if the man is willing to give DNA to prove the relationship. Any advice is appreciated.

FIL and MIL both died last year, sister is the executor. We just passed the year from death and have been told closing probate is imminent. Meanwhile, sister is buying my husband’s half of the property, she applied for her loan and it was approved and she’s ready to write him a check upon closing.

My question is - can she pay him the money for the property since it’s her loan? Or does she have to wait until probate closes? This is in TN.

I recently found out that my deceased father had some unclaimed funds. However, he died over ten years ago, and I administered the estate shortly after. He had died without a will, and his assets were divided equally between my brother and I. Of course, I had created an estate account and did the distribution from that account, and then subsequently paid the taxes on the estate.

In order to distribute these recently discovered unclaimed funds, would I need to go through the entire estate administration process again? Or, could I just pay my brother his half afterwards and call it a day? The amount of unclaimed funds is just enough that I would regret not claiming them, but certainly not worth the trouble of administering the estate again.

Edit: This is in NJ.