My relative is dying and has left me money in a trust and possibly life insurance.?
598894
If your relative did not have a WILL before he died, then the Trust will have to be settled in court.\n\nAs for life insurance, you need to contact his life insurance company. You will need provide documentation that he died before they begin paying out the death benefit. Please note: Only the beneficiaries listed on the life policy will get the benefit. So, if your name is not on the policy, you will get nothing from the life insurance.
778019
In the event of a death - his funds should be frozen for a period of time.  Your cheque should be honoured but it may be delayed.  If you can wait for your money - it would be very considerate of you since the widow will now have a million things to deal with regarding her late husband (funeral, casket, headstone, etc...) let alone finding the time to be in mourning.\n\nIf your able to speak with the wife - bring it up after everything has settled (maybe after the holidays...)\n\nSorry for your loss
230558
and to receive youll either pay for the money or have to give out confidential information best to leave it alone. im always getting this crap. have relatives overseas who has died left all their wealth to me and all i have to do is help pay for the lawyer feees. its a scam
291761
are you talking about an insurance point of view? if they apparently died at the same time, the the person who owns the insurance policy is deemed to die last, since then the insurance benefit will go into his/her estate not the estate of the beneficiary
852619
Presumably the death has been registered and the funeral is over and it is simply a matter of sorting out the estate.\n\n1.Make sure you get plenty of copies of  the death certificate - 15 is a good working number.  You will have to show copies to banks, building societies, companies with which the deceased held shares...it goes on and on.  Many organisations will need sight of an original Death Certificate before releasing funds. Copies obtained from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages are regarded as 'originals' as opposed to a photocopy of the certificate.  \n  \n2.. Apply for a Grant of Probate via the nearest Probate Registry.  You may well have done this already. \n\n3.  Arrange to open a  Personal Representative's bank account. This will be used for paying in money due to the estate and any loan arranged to pay an Inheritance Tax bill and/or probate fees.  Eventually it will be used for paying out bequests under the will.  Warning: after twelve months the bank will start charging monthly fees.\n\n4. Inform all relevant persons and organisations - banks, building societies, life assurance companies, employers, local authorities, Inland Revenue, benefit agencies etc. \n\n5. Arrange for a valuation of the Estate. This will include the house (if owned or partly owned by the deceased) together with its contents, other personal effects, investments in savings plans, stocks and shares, life policies, building societies etc. Draw up a detailed  list of all the Testator's assets. \n\n6. Draw up a list of debts that must be paid from the proceeds of the Estate. These will include mortgages, any income and capital gains taxes, bills, credit cards, loans and overdrafts. \n\n7. Complete the forms required by the Inland Revenue Capital Taxes Office so that it can be established whether any Inheritance Tax is due.\n\n8. Complete the probate forms and send or take them to the Probate Office along with the original Will, the death certificate and the Inland Revenue account.\n\n9. Provided that the case is fairly straightforward, an appointment will be made for the personal representative to 'swear the papers' within about 5 - 6 weeks of receipt at the Probate Office \n\n10. When Inheritance Tax is due the Executor's account of the Estate is passed to the Inland Revenue and the Grant of Probate cannot be issued until the tax is paid. There will be circumstances where part of the Estate has to be sold to pay Inheritance Tax and if this is the case banks can arrange loan facilities to pay the tax straight away. \n\n11. Copies of the Grant of Probate should be sent to everyone who owes money to the Estate. You now as Executor have a legal authority to pursue any debts owing to the Estate. \n\n12. When the Grant of Probate is received, the Estate can be divided according to the terms of the Will. The Executor must prepare and sign accounts showing who has received what from the distribution. They must be able to show that they acted in accordance with the terms of the  Will in case there is any dissent from the family of the deceased. \n\n13. All papers, including the Grant of Probate and the accounts must be stored safely for a period of 12 years.\n\n\nAs you can see, it all takes quite a long time and it would be most imprudent to tell beneficiaries about their expectations under the will before you have sorted out debts owed by the estate, especially taxes. Once this has been done, then you can begin to pay out the specific legacies, but the residuary legatee (the one who stands to inherit what is left in the estate when all debts have been paid) won't know until you have drawn up the final accounts what he or she is getting.\n\nThere are some simple guides on being an executor obtainable and it would be a good idea to get one.
149336
yes, you should probably seek a lawyer, preferably one that specializes in will, trust and estate law.
528090
I LIVE IN CHICAGO, WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS RIGHT NOW! ON ME AND MY HUSBANDS INHERITANCE, HIS GRANDMOTHER LEFT A WILL TO SPLIT THE MONEY BETWEEN 5 PEOPLE, YOU DON'T WANT IT TO GO TO PROBATE CAUSE IT CAN BE HELD IN COURTS FOR YEARS AND YOU PAY THE LAWYER LOTS OF MONEY! THE LAWYER JUST WANTS TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOU!  THERE ARE ONLINE WEBSITE YOU SHOULD SCAN FOR YOU CITY!  BUT IN CHICAGO PROBATE IS NOTHING WE WOULD WANT TO DO, WE ARE DOING A LIVING TRUST THAT WAY NO ONE CAN CLAIM ANYTHING AND IT WON'T GO TO PROBATE WHICH IS COURT WHERE A JUDGE DECIDES WHO THE PROPERTY SHOULD GO TO AND THE JUDGE WILL MAKE THAT DECISION, WE DON'T WANT THAT, SO CHECK YOU STATE OUT ,GO TO WEBSITES AND GET INFORMATION BEFORE YOU SIGN ANY LEGAL DOCUMENTS,LAWYERS JUST WANT MONEY!!
1119396
Your husband's stepfather most likely was the legal owner of the 401k, even he had not taken "possession" of the funds.  If the deaths were related (same accident, say) you could perhaps argue for concurrent deaths - it doesn't sound like what you're describing.\n\nBecause the account belonged to your husband's stepfather, it will most likely become part of his estate to be distributed based on his will.  If there is no will, it will be settled in probate court.\n\nIf you are not named in your husband's stepfather's will, you may not be entirely out of luck.  Talk with an attorney in  your state - there may be a basis to challenge the distribution, although I think it is slim.  Buty you should at least seek legal counsel before you give up on receiving any of the funds.
231793
I think that you should contact a law office that specializes in Wills, Trusts, and Estates Law and seek a free consultation to see if they may be able to make a case for you or make a referral to what should be the next move. Good Luck...and keep the fire to inquire!
141935
By having the trust own the vehicle you are separating yourself from the liability. The trust still has to pay insurance on the vehicles. But I really don't think it totally cuts you out of the picture.
664322
A couple of things.  You dont need multiple policies, one will do.  The policies allow you to designate beneficiaries, and also you are able to designate percentages to each.\n\nIf you want to control how the money is used, have a trust setup so that if you died, the insurance proceeds would go to the trust and the trust would distribute proceeds according to your pre-established desire. You pick who you want to be the trustee of the money...someone you trust would spend money according to your wishes..it could be a friend, family member, or outside independent source.\n\nThat would keep the money out of everyone's hands.
958988
Try to go through all of the statements/paperwork you may have of your deceased relative, then contact the corresponding banks to see if there is an account in their name.  You'll probably need to come in to the bank in person and show them the death certificate and that you're a relative, for them to give you that sort of information.  You can also contact your state's Abandoned Property department (look them up in business white pages) and have them do a search for anything that may have been surrendered to them by the bank.
1178487
Dear Friend,\n\nDo not let them do this.  A person listed as "payable on death" has ZERO interest in your account while you are still alive.  They just get any assets left WHEN you die, they are not on the hook for any liabilities -- certainly not while you're alive.  Let them know you'll get a lawyer if they don't change their tune -- and that it'll cost them a LOT more than $800.  Bank stealing money from innocent children?  Most judges and any jury in the world would eat that up.\n\nYour Friend,\nFrancesois
524595
I worked in life insurance and annuity administration a couple years ago.  Here's how it goes:  Not just anybody can take a policy on you.  There has to be a matter of insurable interest; meaning that if you die, there will be financial burden to the beneficiary of the policy (this can be family or possibly a business, estate, etc...).  This prevents people 'betting' someone is going to die, then cashing in the policy.  Generally, immediate family members can be the owner and beneficiary of the insurance policy, but the insured must acknowledge somewhere on the application they are aware there is insurance taken out on them.  Unless they are a minor.  That is another explanation.  \n\nHope this helps.
649177
There's a lesson to be learn from here. To avoid your future family going through the same mess, get a will. Sorry to hear your mom pass away, but if she had a will, your family wouldn't be so frustrated on who should get what.\n\nIn life insurance, all the name beneficiaries on the policy are paid equal amounts. So there's really nothing to fight about on this topic.
552945
The estate will be responsible for the debts up to the amount of their assets.  However any debts in excess will not pass on to you.  Hopefully your parents have life insurance that will take care of most of their debts in event of an untimely death.  \n\nIf you are worried about your parents financial situation, you should talk to them about it.  You may want to pay for a fee-only financial planner to have a consultation with them.  It is your parents money, so you should think of it as helping them be more comfortable, rather than protecting your inheritance.
983267
Any solicitor will expect you to place him in funds initially to cover the costs of taking out Letters of Administration.  One of the problems of dealing with the estate of a person who has died intestate is that inheritance tax has to be paid up front by the person making the application, so there are more things than the solicitor's fees to worry about, especially if your mother left substantial property.  However, if your mother died leaving a number of bank and building society accounts then what could happen in practice is that once things start moving, you will find the solicitor handling the estate willing and able to reimburse you for your initial expenditure and then take money out of the estate to cover fees as he goes along. If your mother left considerable liquid assets, therefore, all you have to worry about is finding the initial lump sum to pay down to the solicitor.  If she didn't, then you may well have to take out a bank loan to pay fees and charges, as otherwise nothing is going to get done.  Remember, everything you pay down is reimbursable.  Very unfairly, however, you can't claim for interest charges if you do take out a loan.  \nI have been in this situation and I know what it is like.  My sympathies as well as my condolences.\n\np.s.\nHaving traced your earlier question, I realise that you are not in fact in a position to take action of this kind, as another sibling is administrator of the estate.  That means that you cannot have access to your share of your mother's estate until it has been wound up.  That other relative is in the driving seat and unless you feel that you have reason to sue your relative (which sould be a most regrettable thing to do and would probably cause a permanent rift) you will probably have to sit this one out.  Solicitors are only permitted to work on a contingency fee basis in non-contentious cases, which such a case as this would certainly not be!