Advice on settling an estate?

[Homeslice]

For a deceased relative:

1) Need to figure out which of his bills actually needs to be paid, and which ones can be ignored
2) Need to consolidate all his savings and insurance
3) House is in poor shape, AND he still owes on it.....Need advice on whether to just turn it over to the bank, or keep paying on it and fix it up and sell it ourselves
3) He had an inheritance from his aunt that he was expecting sometime soon....We will have to figure out how to re-direct that to us, now that he's passed

So the question is What kind of person would you hire to assist with these issues...... an accountant, lawyer, or financial advisor?

[derf]

Take a look at the current value of the house, and the amount owed, same goes for cars and anything of value.

More importantly you really need to talk to an estate lawyer, you could possibly be responsible for credit cards and stuff like that, and it could impact your credit, and possibly your property if a creditor decides to collect.

[CasterTroy]

Just hired an estate lawyer to walk us thru the will and estate handling process ourselves.

If the amount of assets is over $250,000 you need a financial planner to handle the estate in your behalf.


Before any net profits are realized all debt will have to be paid though. Outstanding credit cards, loans, etc. You MAY be able to get out of the mortgage though.

[Homeslice]

What do estate lawyers charge by, their time, or % of assets?

About 90-100K is owed on the house, and it needs a lot of work to be marketable.......And even if we spent $20-30K fixing it up, it would probably only fetch $200K in that neighborhood.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

For a deceased relative:

1) Need to figure out which of his bills actually needs to be paid, and which ones can be ignored
2) Need to consolidate all his savings and insurance
3) House is in poor shape, AND he still owes on it.....Need advice on whether to just turn it over to the bank, or keep paying on it and fix it up and sell it ourselves
3) He had an inheritance from his aunt that he was expecting sometime soon....We will have to figure out how to re-direct that to us, now that he's passed

So the question is What kind of person would you hire to assist with these issues...... an accountant, lawyer, or financial advisor?

An attorney.

He/she can bring in an accountant or advisor if necessary.

Was there a will? Next of kin?

Those questions will make the process more streamlined but I'd still bring in a professional.

You have multiple issue here, some for the probate courts (house / savings, etc. ) some for the beneficiaries (insurance avoids probate).

It sounds like a small estate, an accountant probably won't be necessary at all.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by shmike

Was there a will? Next of kin?
.

No will. But we are next of kin.

He created a trust that he was paying bills with before he died, and as soon as we get his death certificate, we'll get power over that trust so that we can pay bills from it instead of from our own pocket. My sisters and I have already paid about $20K in funeral bills and hospice care from our own pocket.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

No will. But we are next of kin.

He created a trust that he was paying bills with before he died, and as soon as we get his death certificate, we'll get power over that trust so that we can pay bills from it instead of from our own pocket. My sisters and I have already paid about $20K in funeral bills and hospice care from our own pocket.

Is the attorney that drew up the trust still practicing?

He should be fairly familar with the estate.

Without a will, most of his assets (those not in the trust) will pass through probate. Definitely hire an attorney.

[2up]

I have a question out of curiosity, based on what I think I'm reading. Say I have an uncle who dies, and leaves behind 60k in assets but owes more than that, if he left his estate to me, I may have to pay off his debt? If he didn't, do I? This isn't even a remotely real scenario, I really am just curious how this works. Kinda sounds like BS to me if anyone has to pay of the debt of another, which they did not play any part in incurring.

And sorry to hear of your loss Homey.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by shmike

Is the attorney that drew up the trust still practicing?

He should be fairly familar with the estate.

It was CLA Estate Services, which isn't actually a legal firm.