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complex estate

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jandg99

Junior Member
Confused in Florida. I am the personal representative of a fairly complex estate. The deceased(my grandmother) was the legal guardian of my brother (a minor) prior to her death. She "appointed" me as his guardian in the will. Myself and my brother are the sole beneficiaries (our mother is deceased). I have been appointed personal representative by the court. I do not have official guardianship papers. My attorney told me that I must obtain permission from the court to pay any of her outstanding bills or to withdraw any funds for my brother's needs. I am not in a postition to meet his needs financially and there are adequate funds available to support him. Is there anything that I can do to obtain funds for his care before the probate process is complete and funds are distributed? Why do I need permission from the court to pay her debts? I'm lost!
 


BlondiePB

Senior Member
jandg99 said:
Confused in Florida. I am the personal representative of a fairly complex estate. The deceased(my grandmother) was the legal guardian of my brother (a minor) prior to her death. She "appointed" me as his guardian in the will. Myself and my brother are the sole beneficiaries (our mother is deceased). I have been appointed personal representative by the court. I do not have official guardianship papers. My attorney told me that I must obtain permission from the court to pay any of her outstanding bills or to withdraw any funds for my brother's needs. I am not in a postition to meet his needs financially and there are adequate funds available to support him. Is there anything that I can do to obtain funds for his care before the probate process is complete and funds are distributed? Why do I need permission from the court to pay her debts? I'm lost!
This is not too complex for me to understand. To help you sort all this out, please answer the following questions:

Have you opened an estate bank account for granny and placed her money in that account?

Where is the minor's bio-dad? Was bio-dad paying granny any child support?

Did granny have any guardian bank accounts for your brother? Did your brother receive Social Security survivor benefits from your mother?
 

jandg99

Junior Member
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have opened an estate account and have transferred funds into that account. The minor's dad is not in the picture (court order) and thus has not contributed to the minor's care since the death of our mother. Granny did have a gaurdian bank account for my brother. A social security check (from mom) is deposited into that account monthly. He has immediate needs at this time (i.e., medical care, clothing, school needs etc.) and I have exhausted all of my resources (granny deceased in Jan. this year). I assumed that my attorney would consider this matter a high priority, however, nothing has been done for the past six months. As a matter of fact, very little has been done regarding this estate in general, despite my persistent phone calls. My grandmother requested that I use this particular attorney in her will, and I felt obligated to honor that request. Getting back on the original subject, I was told that when a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can obtain emergency funds (should they exist) to sustain him or her if the deceased was the sole provider of income for the surviving spouse. If this is true, surely the same applies to children.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
 

jandg99

Junior Member
More questions RE:complex estate

(FL) In addition to the gaurdianship issue, I am also confused about how the assets will ultimately be dispersed. A large portion of the assets is in land. My grandmother left the entire estate to my brother and I to "share and share alike". How will this type of asset be dispersed while he is a minor? Will it go under my name as his gaurdian (if I am appointed as such)? At what age will he be "legal" in fl to make decisions re: his inheritance? What a mess!
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Yes, I have opened an estate account and have transferred funds into that account.
Good job.
The minor's dad is not in the picture (court order) and thus has not contributed to the minor's care since the death of our mother.
This does not necessarily mean that child support cannot be pursued. However, that is something to look into later. There's other things now that are a priority.
Granny did have a gaurdian bank account for my brother. A social security check (from mom) is deposited into that account monthly.
Okay.
He has immediate needs at this time (i.e., medical care, clothing, school needs etc.) and I have exhausted all of my resources (granny deceased in Jan. this year).
I do hope you have kept receipts. You can be reimbursed for your expenses.
I assumed that my attorney would consider this matter a igh priority, however, nothing has been done for the past six months. As a matter of fact, very little has been done regarding this estate in general, despite my persistent phone calls. My grandmother requested that I use this particular attorney in her will, and I felt obligated to honor that request.
Granny would absolutely not want all this delay, especially about your brother. The very first thing that needed to be done was taking care of the guardianship for him. I cannot believe that this has not been taken care of by the attorney. It's been over 6 months! This needs to be done immediately.

Do not feel bad about granny's request to use her attorney and fire that attorney. Granny would want your brother to come first and be taken care of. Someone needs to do a final accounting of granny's guardian account. Once you are appointed as guardian and health care surrogate, you need to open new guardian accounts and have everything from granny's guardian accounts transferred to them.
Getting back on the original subject, I was told that when a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can obtain emergency funds (should they exist) to sustain him or her if the deceased was the sole provider of income for the surviving spouse. If this is true, surely the same applies to children.
This is true. As your lazy butt attorney told you, you do have to have a court order. Please prepare a list of how much you need and what you need it for, bring it to the attorney, tell the attorney to petition the court for that money immediately. After getting the court order, you can release that money from the estate account and then fire that attorney. Keep all receipts.
In addition to the gaurdianship issue, I am also confused about how the assets will ultimately be dispersed. A large portion of the assets is in land. My grandmother left the entire estate to my brother and I to "share and share alike". How will this type of asset be dispersed while he is a minor? Will it go under my name as his gaurdian (if I am appointed as such)?
Depending on what the court orders for your brother is how his property will be titled, either in trust or under the guardianship. Real Estate is usually put in trust. It may just be better to just sell the property. That way, you do not have to worry about taxes, insurance, and other costs that you and your brother will have to pay.
At what age will he be "legal" in fl to make decisions re: his inheritance?
He will have access to his inheritance at the age 18. The same time as his guardianship ends.
What a mess!
It's really not as much as a mess as you think. Please do find another attorney after getting the court order allowing you to release funds from the estate account. You need an attorney that will immediately take care of such things required for your brother (a probate attorney that is also specializes in guardianships). It is inexcusable for the attorney not to have had the guardianship taken care of right after granny's death.

Here's a link to FL's statutes. Please read about Estates and Trusts and Chpt 744 about guardianships. When it comes to being a guardian over another person, you must take care of their money better than your own and be able to stand in front of a judge to explain every penny spent and provide receipts -- just like the estate account.

www.flsenate.gov/statutes
 
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