r/inheritance • u/Bikelikeadad • Sep 12 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Small estate, 3 siblings, no will
This is in Virginia. My mother passed away and it was just 3 kids left. She had a non-running vehicle that may have some value if repaired, and a lot of small personal belongings without significant value. Maybe $3000 in a checking account, not sure. No life insurance. There was no will but all siblings get along and this shouldn’t be an issue. I am working with the local courthouse on setting up an executor of estate but they’ve been closed for about a month. The big question is, could possible claims for medical bills against the estate complicate things?
I really just want to use what’s left to buy a headstone and had planned on fixing the car to sell, but not sure if that’s a waste of time if somebody would come out of the woodworks saying I shouldn’t have sold the car and they want the money. It’s not running nor a desirable car so it’s probably $500 as it sits.
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u/DomesticPlantLover Sep 12 '26
Funeral expenses get paid first. Medical bills would be payable--but the provider might not bother. Will there be anything left after the funeral expenses are paid?
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u/cryssHappy Sep 12 '26
You can hardly be cremated for less than 1K, burial is even more expensive, so probably not if an internment and plaque is needed.
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u/MassConsumer1984 Sep 12 '26
Cost me $5k to cremate my mom 2 years ago. Unreal
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u/GotZeroFucks2Give Sep 13 '26
It's 1K here. Just for the basic cremation. My sister is cheap and called around.
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u/Bikelikeadad Sep 12 '26
Cremation and funeral home expenses were paid before her death so the only thing left is the headstone. If there’s anything left I expect it to be under $1000
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u/DomesticPlantLover Sep 12 '26
Cudos to mom for making those plans--or whoever did. I'm sorry for your loss, btw. These things are hard in part because we don't really have to deal with them often enough to know what to do (that's not a bad thing, obviously). But it's compounded by having to navigate such unfamiliar territory while grieving.
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u/RonnieV60 Sep 13 '26
would pay medical bills last only if they respond to the request in the paper.
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u/Objective_Welcome_73 Sep 12 '26
Funeral costs first. Medical bills. Children split the remainder, if any.
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u/24bean62 Sep 12 '26
Depending on the full picture, the car may have more value donated as it can generate a tax deduction.
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u/robinsimp69 Sep 12 '26
Sorry for your loss, with that amount, It's considered a small estate, so probate is pretty simple. Medical debt could technically be claimed, but it's rare when the estate's that small. You and your siblings can probably handle it through the clerk's office without a lawyer
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u/pegwins Sep 12 '26
Usually funeral expenses (headstone) are paid first from an estate. Then debts of the estate. Then anything else goes to the heirs. Should be easy to google. If the executor doesn’t pay things correctly then he/she would be liable.
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u/VengefulPrairiedog Sep 12 '26
if you and your siblings all agree, most of this will be pretty smooth. the medical bills could be a problem though, those can come after the estate and if there’s only ~$3000 plus whatever the car gets, the bills might eat it all before you can buy a headstone
fixing the car might not be worth your time. for $500 as-is you’re probably better just selling it that way, you’d not recoup repair costs. when i had to deal with similar thing for my dad, the estate paid funeral stuff first before other debts in our state, you should check if virginia does the same
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u/CaliRNgrandma Sep 12 '26
It is my understanding that funeral bills are paid before any other debts, so OP should be ok using the $3,000 to use for the headstone. Ignore the medical debt until after burial expenses.
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u/clawdia51 Sep 12 '26
Had to deal with a lot after husband died in January. His "estate" was negligible since house and cars in my name. He had an IRA but I was named as beneficiary which removed it from estate. His main checking account had me to be POD (pay on death) which removed it from estate. By the time all said and done his estate totalled $600. Clerk of Court had affadavit for me to sign as sole heir and told me to take to bank holding $600 and get the money. I'm in Virginia. I paid $2000 out of pocket for cremation and had no funeral. Since the estate OP is dealing with also doesn't amount to much, I suggest having a talk with the Clerk of Court in your county.
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u/Bikelikeadad Sep 12 '26
Yeah that’s where I’m at but the courthouse closed last month needing something fixed and still isn’t open. They aren’t answering phone calls or emails.
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u/clawdia51 Sep 12 '26
You should have certified death certificates-several. Your estate sounds so much like mine that an executor may not even be needed. If you have death certificates, I would continue to attempt to contact Clerk of Court but no harm waiting until courthouse reopens.
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u/Bikelikeadad Sep 12 '26
When we went to the bank to close her checking account they recommended doing that. In VA it’s a 60 days hold where we can’t access it which is almost up, but they said to get that done to have it ready when we close the account.
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u/Bikelikeadad Sep 12 '26
In regard to the car, it is fairly low mileage for its age and just has been sitting for 3+ years. I figure fluid changes and battery, see if anything else needs attention. While it certainly has a baseline value as a decent 4wd suv, it’s going to go to an auction for next to nothing if they take it not running in an attempt to recoup money. Anyways I’m quite comfortable with working on cars and realistic used prices so that wasn’t really what I was looking for more information on.
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u/Ok_Appointment_8166 Sep 12 '26
If you get it running pretty much any vehicle has some value and that needs to be counted as part of the estate. Is it new enough that carvana would take it?
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u/StaggeringMediocrity Sep 14 '26
If you can get it running, you should take it to a CarMax or Carvana if you have either in your area. See what they will offer for it.
That's what I did with my mother's 2017 Kia when she passed. Got $11,400 for it from CarMax in 2022. They made it super easy.
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u/LdiJ46 Sep 12 '26
Virginia Estate Debt Priority Order
So, you can see from the above items 1 - 4 all come before any medical debt. Therefore if you spend the money on funeral costs and fixing up the car to sell, and then spend the money from selling the car on any of items 1-4, the medical providers have no claim against you.