OT Lawyers

I am sorry for your loss, but glad that you seem to be handling it as well as can be expected.

Too late for your mom's situation, but this is one of the major benefits of Living Trusts - avoiding probate.

this link provides some interesting information:

I don't know your background or pain level, but you may want to handle this probate yourself. Or at least get educated and tell the next lawyer you visit this is what you are thinking, unless he can make it worth your while to use his services (i.e. at a low cost to you).

What are the assets in the estate? How are they to be distributed?

You might also stop by the court and talk to the clerks - often times the courts will be particularly helpful to someone trying to handle their own, not very complicated, matters.

Hi George, have you looked into a Notary Public? If the will is uncontested then it should be fairly simple and inexpensive to have it probated.

Searching on Google with the terms "probate will notary new york fee" had the first listing of an ad for $2,500 flat probate fee. This is an ad, and may not be valid, but I would certainly talk with your local Notary Public!

Many lawyers are simply land sharks, there are alternatives...shop around!

John :-#)#

Notaries Public cannot practice law. If you find a Notary that says they can probate your will, run, run, RUN!

Sorry for your loss. If I was in your situation I suspect I would feel the same.

Do you /have/ to involve lawyers? They can be very adept at draining assets into their pockets.

In the UK the executors are normally not lawyers and are often the beneficiaries. So long as there are no disagreements, the major issue that you can't get hold pf the money until the probate has been granted - which can only happen after inheritance taxes have been paid.

When my father died, the IHT calculation was a b*tch, but otherwise we just followed the instructions in the booklet we were given when he died.

Nice, thanks.

The assets are fairly simple with only my brother and me. 50/50 split. There is a house, but for the short term we will hang onto it and rent it. (It's a duplex, I think I might buy it in the future, but we can work that out.) She did put 1/2 of here assets in a trust, and I don't really know how that counts. The trust was started 4-5 years ago and there is some time till it is fully in our names.

George H.

I don't really have any advice but I'm very sorry for your loss. My maternal aunt passed two years ago from the disease after being in a care home for significantly longer. Best wishes going forward

Thanks Tom, I'm the executor, (oldest child) I did this ~20 years ago when my father passed away. I recall spending a few $k on a lawyer. My mum had an accountant and he will take care of any taxes.

I don't mind paying for service, but I hate the feeling that I just have to bend over and take it.

George h.

Thanks, it's a terrible F-ing disease. I'm thinking I should get a massive dose of morphine or something to take care of myself if I have it. I was worried about what we would do if she lived for another 2-3 years.

George H.

Which is your main problem, I suspect. Of all the states; of all the countries in the world.... you happen to be in that one. You really *must* get some independent feedback from previous clients and select the firm that gets the best marks. If you don't do this, you're begging to get right-royally screwed over.

I paid a bunch of money to a lawyer to settle my mother's estate, and he proved to be essentially useless, aside from transcribing information provided by me onto various forms I could have filled out myself. When I did the same for a friend who designated me as executor I used a lawyer only to draft the will, no other legal services were required. I am in PA not NY so things will be different there, but I suggest discussing the matter with your local county registrar of wills before hiring a lawyer. An in-person visit with the original will, death certificate and a checkbook could get you out the door with the documents needed to start settling the estate, primarily the "Short Forms" needed to open an estate bank account and sell/distribute the estate assets. Forms and a description of the process may be available at some state web site also, as a preliminary to the in-person visit that will eventually be required.

I hope it goes smoothly whichever route you take.

Regards, Glen

Absolutely. In NY State there's also the high possibility that the

Then there's the FSA (Freedom States of America)... we here in AZ don't even need a lawyer to buy or sell a house ;-) ...Jim Thompson

Should have added... a properly written Will in AZ doesn't even go to probate. ...Jim Thompson

That is a very misleading statement. "If the deceased did not have any assets or if no assets remain titled in the name of the deceased then a probate is not necessary unless the purpose of the probate is to give notice to the deceased?s creditors and require them to file a claim with the personal representative or have their claim barred forever."

Sounds like the assets are below the NY threshold for estate tax.

You don't even need a lawyer to buy or sell a house in California.

I mis-spoke... should be "probate *court*". Notice to creditors is required via a simple notice in newspapers of "record". ...Jim Thompson

That surprises me! Most of the Democrat-controlled states are awash in bureaucratic procedures. ...Jim Thompson

adding "court" changes nothing.

This must be a throw back to when california was, well, not today's california.

I have just been through your exact situation in NJ. Before you decide to use lawyers pay a visit or call your local surrogate's court, they are extremely helpful and will give you an idiots guide to probate. (My attorney told me to do it myself as the estate was simple as yours sounds) I did everything myself, no problems. Sorry you had to go through the Alzheimers thing, its awful.