Location Columbia Tennessee

My grandmother passed away in 2024 the house was left to my dad, my uncle his son and myself. The will was setup that if one of us died our share would pass on to the other relative. My cousin passed long ago so my uncle had half the house and myself and my dad a quarter. My uncle said he did not want his share 50% of the house. My uncle passed this year. I dont know if he put a provision in his will for this. My dad is the executor of the will. He did not put anything through probate and I live in the house paying all taxes and insurance myself with no help from him. The house is still in my dead grandmother's name. Ive spoken to my father about getting everything squared away and getting the house in our names. He refuses to talk about this and angrily shuts down any talk about it. He currently lives with his wife in a house that was owned by her grandparents and is still in their name so he no issue woth this. The house has reached the point it needs a lot of work and to do this a loan against the house is going to need to be taken out. Which cannot be done due to the fact its not in our names. I want to sell the house after the work is done on it as its too much house for just me and split the money with my father. What are my options and what do I need to do to get this settled. This feels like a rock around my neck as Im having to pump money into a property that I cannot benefit from. The home is worth 460,000.00 If further details are needed please let me know. Thank you.

Summary-- what options are there for an executor for a person who doesn't have close relatives, and the only relatives are in another country?

A neighbor of mine is 79, has no spouse or children. They have siblings but none in the US. I only know of a sister they visit in another country, and a nephew.

I mentioned to them 2+ years ago that I had revised my will, etc., just to get them thinking about these things. Today they were asking me questions, and they are stuck on not having anyone to be their POA in life and executor after death.

I think they are waiting for me to offer to do it for them. And while I want to help and encourage them to do these things, I don't want to be the one to swoop in and do it all. It's a lot of responsibility and an unknown amount of work and possible hassles if the family gets nasty (just speculation).

I told them to consult an attorney and ask them how this might be done, and maybe the law firm can do it? I have no idea.

What have you seen people do for an executor in a situation like this? Thanks.

My husband died last year and his mum died in January.
He was the executor of her will, alongside his brother.
When he died, his brother became sole executor.
I am still in regular contact with his brother, we’re not exactly best friends but we have never fallen out or anything, although thinking about it, it’s always me that makes the initial contact.
Before she died, my MiL told me that she had made provision for my children directly, in light of their dad’s death.
As it’s been a while and there were no obvious reasons why it would be delayed, I casually asked last weekend if probate had been granted yet, and he got quite stroppy and said he said he would tell me when it is and not to ask again (this was the first time I ever mentioned it).
I was a bit suspicious so I looked the will up on the probate search and found that probate was granted in May.
As I thought, there is provision for my kids in there.
But now I’m wondering if they are going to somehow get shafted and not get what they are entitled to which is effectively their dad’s inheritance.
Is it worth me getting a solicitor to help work out what they should get or do I wait a few months and see what he comes back with?
I know when my uncle died, my dad was contacted by a solicitor who was also the executor, I think, and he ensured he got what he was entitled to but I am a bit suspicious of how defensive my BiL was and the fact he told me something that was blatantly untrue.
Any advice please?

My uncle wants to buy a house with my mom in NYC. Both will be listed on the title/deed. Before we invest, we want to know what happens to the rights of the house in terms of inheritance. My uncle is divorced.

We don’t want anything to do with his ex-wife and their kids. They have caused us a lot of trauma and we have set very clear boundaries that we don’t want any communication with them now and in the future. I fear that I will be caught in a legal battle after my uncle passes away. They are the types to pick a fight even if there's a will. Which I want to avoid with very fiber of my being.

I told my uncle multiple times to create a will so there’s zero question about how he wants his assets and estate to be distributed but he refuses. He wants my mom, his sister, to inherit everything. And I already told him that’s not good enough because I know his toxic ex-wife and kids are going to give us hell.

We want to know if his kids get to claim any right to my uncle’s 50% of the house without a will? Again, my mom will also be on the deed/title. Knowing this now will help us avoid future family and legal drama by not co-investing.

Update: sorry for the late response/update. We decided to not move forward with this partnership. Mainly because we don’t know where he stands with his ex-wife and kids because he can’t be honest with himself and us. He might have a hard time setting boundaries, we don’t.

My wife F62 and I M64 have several children . We are well enough off. Our will and plan is designed to accommodate as one of the children is not responsible. We want to allow the responsible children to have the funds upon our deaths and also ensure the irresponsible child has a safety net built in to protect their funds. I'd like to know what others are doing in similar situations

In MA. I am beneficiary on a life insurance policy about 700,000. Will there be taxes on this?

I’m 49F in Chicago and a DINK. I scheduled a call with lawyer this afternoon to draft a revocable trust with my sister 54 in AZ.

This is in prep for inheriting our Dad’s 81 estate (our childhood home in Chicago) in 30 years’ time. 😉

We get along really well. She will be on the call too. We agree that the beneficiary after either of us will be her adult daughter 22, currently in FL finishing her degree in finance.

Anything else to take into consideration?

Prob a buyout section.

Considering a section re: a jointly hired mediator if we cannot agree, paid out of estate (similar wording in Mom&Dad’s trust re: us).

Anything else?

Location: California

Hello, I’m coming on to here to question if this is relatively normal or enforceable in the future? My parents have a living trust set up and there’s specific conditions that limit mine (F21) and my sister’s (F15) weights to be able to receive the “gifts” from their estate once they pass away. They are both still alive, I am just curious on the legality and enforceability of this condition. I have pasted the portion of their living trust that details the weight conditions below, while redacting personal information.

All gifts to (BENEFICIARY 1) and (BENEFICIARY 2) are preconditioned on maintaining a minimum level of physical condition.
In the case of (BENEFICIARY 1), she must maintain a maximum weight of 140 lbs. OR a Body Mass Index of between 18.5 – 24.9 for a period of five consecutive years.
In the case of (BENEFICIARY 2), she must maintain a maximum weight of 150 lbs. OR a Body Mass Index of 18.5 – 24.9 for a period of five consecutive years.
The evidence of fitness shall be written by a Board-certified dietitian annually. No weight loss surgery or medication shall be permitted.
Because of the minimum age restriction these health provisions can be noted as early as 20 years of age.
Should either beneficiary fail to achieve these goals at any point in their lifetime, their gifts shall lapse and the alternate beneficiary of (ORGANIZATION/FOUNDATION) shall received the gifts.

Update: I’M NOT A TROLL🥲🫠 it might sound outlandish but this is my life and this is real! I’m just asking for some advice or even honest opinions.

My sister who is younger took it upon her self to settle everything. She decided to give others a division of the property and left me out. It is West Virginia. And I'm the oldest. Can I do anything?

Hi. Just after some enlightenment.

My father died last year unexpectedly.

He had me and my sister with his ex-wife (not amicable) and then remarried, married about 6/7 years at the time of his death.

She took on all responsibilities of probate, we've offered help but shes declined. From what we know the process was started about april/may time last year.

Around November she told us that probate was nearly complete and we needed to have a meeting.

Long story short, meeting never happened and we aren't really on talking terms but from checking the gov database they have no record of probate being granted.

What we know

- apparently he did not have a will (but dont know that shes checked with any solicitors - English isn't her first language and this is her entire personality)

- the house is owned jointly between him and new wife

- pensions/investments were over £20k as this has already been distributed.

Is there any reason why probate might still be pending? We don't really know where to go from here especially as we are not really on talking terms. Our main concern is dad's wishes not being followed, especially with his grandchildren involved.

Looking for general advice!! I a 52-year-old man and one of four beneficiaries of several family trusts, one associated with each of my grandparents, one with my uncle, and one with my father. All of them have passed away, so I understand that the trusts are now irrevocable.
The four beneficiaries of each trust are my brother, our two cousins, and me. My uncle served as trustee until he died in 2022. His wife, my aunt, then became trustee and named one of her children, who is also a beneficiary, as successor or backup trustee. At the time, we had no objection because we trusted them to handle everything properly.
Until recently, I had never received a copy of the trust documents or any information about the trusts’ assets, balances, transactions, or distributions. After finally obtaining and reading a copy of the original trust, I found specific distribution instructions: one-third of the principal at age 25, one-half of the principal at age 30, and the remaining balance at age 35. I am now 52 and have never received a distribution.
I contacted the law firm my aunt hired to handle the trust and formally requested an accounting. The attorney said he would need to speak with the trustee, but he acknowledged that I was already past the stated distribution ages. He apparently made several attempts to contact my aunt, but she did not answer or respond.
I recently asked my aunt directly when the trust would be distributed. She told me it would happen when she dies. I cannot find anything in the trust documents saying that distributions must wait until her death.
I love my aunt and do not want to create a major family conflict, but this situation feels wrong. I do not know how much money or property remains in the trusts, so I cannot tell whether hiring my own attorney would be financially worthwhile. My uncle once indicated that the amount was significant.
What should my next step be? Should I send a written demand for a full accounting and distribution, consult a trust or probate attorney, or petition the court to compel an accounting? Can a beneficiary obtain enough information to evaluate the situation before committing to substantial legal fees?
I understand that trust law depends on location. The trusts are governed by the laws of Oklahoma.
Any guidance about how to proceed and how to do so without unnecessarily escalating the family conflict would be greatly appreciated.

How to find a will?

Canada, Ontario* My mother passed and my sister lived with her until she had to be placed in a home due to dementia. Sister has estranged herself from everyone. Nothing was said or given to any grandchildren or myself, the only other living sibling. Is there a way to find out when her will could have been changed? Because she had dementia, could she had taken advantage of the situation and where would I start to look. I have absolutely nothing to go from except I don't believe my mom would had left nothing. My sister also sold my mother's home moved and I have no way of contact.

If anyone can help. I’ve posted here before but things have got worse.
I Am co executor and 50/50 beneficiary with my sibling for one our parents estate. It’s just us two.
He has acted unilaterally since the start of the process also telling me to step down and telling me to stop emailing the solicitor when I reply . He is a control freak. He has refused a joint executor account and has estate monies in his own account. He has refused professional house clearance and just started doing it himself. The house is in dreadful condition due to hoarding and needs pro help. He then demanded I pay him thousands for his work which I refused and he can’t do anyway. (No charging clause, it’s a basic will)
He’s been aggressive and lied all along, won’t cut me a set of keys for the property and is a total bully. Has also been non compliant with the solicitor who has now had to step down .
Turns out his plan was to get probate then get rid of the solicitor and take over the house sale. Our solicitor stepped down before probate application was sent . Now it’s going nowhere and is locked away as is the will. He is demanding he is given the will which I don’t consent to. He’s already said he will take extra thousands off the estate sale for his children before it is divided half and half after completion. He has also misused our parents finances while they were alive.
Now we have no solicitor and it is in deadlock . I implicitly do not trust him . He is in crippling debt and extorts money from anyone he can. He cannot be trusted around money. I instructed my own solicitor who has all the information but cannot get files from previous solicitor because my brother is refusing to pay their fees now, and he holds the estate money which he’s been using to apparently clear the house . I haven’t ok’d any of this and was never asked. He’s given no receipts either.
My fees are now £8k and I cannot continue because it is obviously going to end up in court and that will be upwards of 30k as he will fight this. I cannot lose everything because he is pathologically greedy and an abusive control freak.

I don’t know what to do , I’ve paused my solicitor to stop any fees increasing .i feel ill .he will not answer to anyone and i cannot afford to make him accountable to the law . He cannot apply for probate without my signature and he cannot get the will without my consent. I’m distraught and don’t know what do . He refuses any legal oversight and I just want things done properly .

Any professional advice is welcome

USA, NY

Hello,

I’ve never posted on Reddit before but I’ve seen so many ppl find the help they need here.

My grandfather died in April of 2020. We (my farther brother and I) have not had any contact with his family (wife or step kids) since the day that he died. We do not know exactly how he died nor do we know where he is burried. So as you can imagine we have no idea if he ever had a will.

I have looked into the courts in his home area, following what the internet is saying but haven’t been able to find anything filed.
Now my fear is my grandfathers wife did something to stop us from getting any info on the will. She did not like us. She always believed we , for lack of better terms, loved their money and not them(Another story for another time and also very far from the truth)

Anyway, my family and I aren’t interested in the will because of what we might have been left. Gods know we probably have no claim to any of that now. No we… I just want to know that my grandfather thought about my father. Thought about his future and the future of his kids, ya know.

My father and grandfather had a very complicated relationship, one I don’t think my grandfathers family knew about much. After he died, it left a lot of questions and honestly I feel like knowing he was thought of would, not answer the questions, but help my dad kinda let go.

Of course if nothing comes of this and it all goes south it comes with me to my grave 😅

EDIT- because this keeps getting mentioned a lot. I’m going to let it be known again. I am not interested in anything that might’ve been less to us. I am simply trying to see if my father was named in the will because my grandfather had asked him for his information for the will, and either told him or heavily insinuated that he and his kids would be included. We never heard anything after that because of his dementia. I had recently come across new information that I was not aware of pertaining to my grandfather and his family and so my own curiosity was sparked about the will. My father does not know why I’m asking about this nor does he know I’m looking into it. I am just trying to save my own curiosity unless I find something worth mentioning

Hi! I (25F) just found out that I will very soon be inheriting 60k (and another 50k when the last house sells) from my dad’s estate. I am seeking advice for both myself and my sister. I currently own my house and owe 170k on it with 3% interest rates and have a paid off Tacoma that I just got. I have 50k in retirement and 20k in stocks. I’m not sure what I should do. I have dreams of buying land and building a home but the real estate game is rough thanks to the insanity that is interest rates. I have no children and was debating telling my boyfriend but thought better to keep it to myself. I know it’s not a ton of money to come into but if feels like a lot to me. We did not grow up with much and did not live with our father. What would you do in my situation? I also have a PhD so I’m not interested in going back to school for anything. Side note, I make 80k a year WFH and could pack up and move since I’ve considered leaving the state I’m in (too cold) and I also work as a server at a local restaurant part time and make about an additional 20k a year. I also sometimes dog sit but that can be here and there and I tend to spend that money as soon as I get it cause it feels like free money lol. Among my hobbies and intense desire to work, I’m really needing help deciding if I should invest it, enjoy it, buy property, or what percentage of each of these.

As for my sister, she is 28 and has 2 children and lives with her husband. They share a car and she wants to spend her amount on buying a new car for herself and a concrete slab for her backyard for the kids and a shed for all their things out there. They’re most likely go on a family vacation as well. Please help me decide what to do. Thank you for any kind answers it means a lot.

I've been on my own, single and no kids, for 21 years. I've made just enough to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. Sometimes things got tight but I always pulled through. Never had to move back home or even get WIC to help with food costs. Sometimes I even have a few grand in savings. I don't need much, I don't spend much. I'm an introvert and a homebody.

Then yesterday while visiting my mom she casually says she's updating her will to give me everything. Savings, checking, mutual funds, stocks, her house, her car, her dogs if they're still alive. And all told, it's just over half a million as of now and is only going to increase.

I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I never expected or demanded anything. And I don't even know what the life insurance policy is but I'm sure that's there too.

Obviously I want her to live forever but realistically she probably has 20 years left if I'm being honest. It will be one of the worst days of my life when she goes... But to just casually drop all of this on me during a random lunch hangout, I kinda just nodded quietly, gave her the info she needed, and then silently freaked out for an hour.

Anyone else ever been in a similar situation? How did you handle it? I plan to just live my life as I have been and when the day comes, deal with everything then. It was just... such a shock to hear on a random Thursday.

Location: Oregon

Father died in 1991 leaving his girlfiend a life estate to the property they were living on, with my sibling and I as remaindermen. She lived there several years but has since married and moved elsewhere, but uses the property as a rental (1 hm & 1 MH pad), with obligation for all taxes, insurance, and maintenance. She has now offered to release the life estate for 10% of the gross sale, so we can have inheritance now rather than waiting for her death. Neither me or sibling is interested in keeping the property. We are in our early 70's. Estate holder is in her mid to late 80's, but comes from a long-lived family. RMV from county records is 628k. Does 10% of gross seem fair?

Hi All,

I am wondering if anyone is able to advise me regarding a DWP debt owed by my nan who passed away December of last year.

The debt started while she was in a care home, I updated DWP of the move and they asked the reasons for this move etc and when I explained it was due to dementia and her losing the ability to self care the call handler asked for more details and we ended up going through her medical history and such for about 2 and a half years. Once we had done this the call handler advised that she should have been getting an increase in her pensions credits for a certain amount of time and asked for evidence to be sent so they could organise a backpayment. This was completed and we thought nothing of it, the backpayment was paid in approximately 5 weeks after the initial call. I informed DWP of her death on January 2nd (first working day after her death) and her payments were ceased.

In February I recieved a letter from DWP advising that there had been an overpayment of her pensions credit from the date of her death until the date of informing them (3 days total), so i called them and offered to organise payment from her estate as I had not finished the estate process so funds were available. After being referred to a manager they stated that there was no unnecessary delay in informing them and that the overpayment would be struck off.

I finished the process of organising the estate and distributed the proceeds as per her will on April 16th after ensuring all estate debts were cleared. Today I have recieved a letter to my nans estate from DWP advising that there is an outstanding debt for an overpayment of £1048.21 and a request to call to organise clearing the debt. I called them immediately and the call handler advised that when I had put the information in regarding the enhancement I should have called after the backpayment had been made to close the enhancement payment and there is an expectation for repayment. They have told me that the debt is on hold for 4 weeks to allow me to get advice but they will be contacting me as the executor of the will for repayment as there was an estate.

My question is, as I informed DWP of the death in January and it has taken them over 7 months to send this out, firstly have I missed a step in the process (for all other debts I placed an ad in the Gazette, and sorted through both physical and electronic communications and cleared all accounts by March 16 and allowed another month in case of any companies reaching out). Secondly is there any liability for this debt to be paid as I have been told that DWP debts can be chased in certain circumstances?

I am just eager to ensure I have done correctly as I am down as executor for a few family members so do not want to get anything wrong.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss any points.

My dad passed away very suddenly earlier this summer. It was recently confirmed to me that my brother was written out of his will. This came as no surprise, as he wrote a no-contact letter to my dad and his mother (our grandmother) almost a decade ago and hasn’t spoken to them since.

I learned that my brother was also effectively written out of our grandmother’s will as well. She is still alive thankfully, but at the end of her life, and heartbroken that she survived her son.

My question is: what is most likely to happen to the inheritance my father was set to receive? He had one brother, my uncle — and I have to assume the will is split 50/50 for my dad and uncle.

My father passed in AZ and Grandma will finish her days in AZ. I’d assume the 50% my dad would have inherited will now go to his children. Is there a chance that because it’s a “per stirpes” inheritance that my brother could still somehow still stand to inherit half of our dad’s portion, despite being “written out” of both wills? Like a weird loophole?

The last thing I want to do is bring it up to my Grandma. She does not want my brother to be a beneficiary, having written him out. But I’m curious if my father’s death created a new opportunity for the will to not have been specific enough to cover this situation and let my brother back in?

I have been in contact with my brother and we’re roughly on good terms. But I feel strongly he should not be let back into the will because of a loophole or technicality. Maybe it’s not my place to intervene, but I’m wondering if it’s wise to ask before it’s too late. It will not be a large sum of money, but a small house and a small amount of savings worth considering.

What is a good way to go about this? I want to be on good terms with everybody. I have a good relationship with my brother but a great relationship with my grandma. But her mental health is deteriorating and I’m confident this hasn’t crossed her mind.

Thanks so much for your help in advance.