I live in Texas.
My sister, a widow, died without a will and I understand that my mother (my father is deceased) and I (her only sibling) each inherit half of her "estate". I put it in quotes because she was, for most intents and purposes, destitute. Here's where it gets convoluted:
Her husband also died without a will approximately one year earlier. He was the only child in a one-time pretty wealthy family that did not believe in paying federal taxes or property taxes or any kind of taxes for that matter. As a result there was quite a bit of land now gone because it was seized by the county for taxes over the years. The IRS also says he/she owes them $120,000 (and growing with interest) for back income taxes for properties he sold (neither my sister or her husband worked). They placed a lien on the beach property below.
A little tangential information:
In addition, before he died, my sister's husband never transferred some of his deceased parents' assets to his name. These assets are oil and gas royalties, and we've recently learned, the ownership of part of an oil well. Some of the royalty checks have been held for years because the companies say they didn't know where to send them. Also, some have been turned over to the state. There are also a multitude of stock certificates we've uncovered, which, for the most part seem to be useless - most if not all of the companies are no longer in business. They were in his parents' names.
My sister also never had the majority of these items transferred to her name after her husband died.
My mother had herself granted as Independent Administrator (free of court supervision) of HIS estate. I've been reading the Texas laws and I understand that you have to provide a list of assets at the court proceedings. There's no way whatever she presented was correct because 1) we still have no idea how much these royalties are worth because most aren't transferred yet, and 2) we have found more assets since then. The court has never been updated. My mother is 79 and doesn't always understand what she's being told. For example, she thinks because she is the Independent Administrator, the assets basically belong to her. When she went to put some of the royalties in her name, they asked some questions and made her put it in her name AND my name. She has not done that with other things if the people don't ask the right questions. She makes weird assumptions that can completely change the meaning of things. Hence my questions here.
So, who inherits the assets? Do they basically pass from his parents to him, and then to my sister, and then to me and my mother equally after creditors are paid? Even if some assets are still in his parents' names and my mother is the administrator of his estate?
Facts:
1) Neither my sister or her husband had any children, with each other or with others.
2) My sister's husband was an only child.
3) My sister's husband's parents were both deceased when he died.
3) I am my sister's only sibling.
4) My sister had only one parent (my mother) when she died.
Wow, I think that's all the information. If not, please let me know. Like I said, it's very convoluted.
Thanks.
My sister, a widow, died without a will and I understand that my mother (my father is deceased) and I (her only sibling) each inherit half of her "estate". I put it in quotes because she was, for most intents and purposes, destitute. Here's where it gets convoluted:
Her husband also died without a will approximately one year earlier. He was the only child in a one-time pretty wealthy family that did not believe in paying federal taxes or property taxes or any kind of taxes for that matter. As a result there was quite a bit of land now gone because it was seized by the county for taxes over the years. The IRS also says he/she owes them $120,000 (and growing with interest) for back income taxes for properties he sold (neither my sister or her husband worked). They placed a lien on the beach property below.
A little tangential information:
Before my sister died, there was also a beach house they had owned that was sold at auction for taxes ($65,000) and it was my mother's understanding that my sister could gain ownership of the property again if (within a certain time period) she re-paid the person that bought it at auction plus some specified percent additional fee. There is a person we have known for a long time who said he wanted to buy the property the beach house is on (apparently it's a desirable location for his company) for much more than the $65,000+. So he put up the required amount (auction price plus the additional required percentage) and paid it to the person that bought the house at auction. Unfortunately our (we have the same lawyer) lawyer did not put this money in escrow or anything, it was paid directly to the person. Even though he was paid correctly, the person refused to hand over the property. So there's been a long drawn out court battle to force him to release the property. The IRS will have to be paid from the eventual proceeds of the sale of the beach house, but there is expected to still be, potentially, as much as $100,000 left over.
In addition, before he died, my sister's husband never transferred some of his deceased parents' assets to his name. These assets are oil and gas royalties, and we've recently learned, the ownership of part of an oil well. Some of the royalty checks have been held for years because the companies say they didn't know where to send them. Also, some have been turned over to the state. There are also a multitude of stock certificates we've uncovered, which, for the most part seem to be useless - most if not all of the companies are no longer in business. They were in his parents' names.
My sister also never had the majority of these items transferred to her name after her husband died.
My mother had herself granted as Independent Administrator (free of court supervision) of HIS estate. I've been reading the Texas laws and I understand that you have to provide a list of assets at the court proceedings. There's no way whatever she presented was correct because 1) we still have no idea how much these royalties are worth because most aren't transferred yet, and 2) we have found more assets since then. The court has never been updated. My mother is 79 and doesn't always understand what she's being told. For example, she thinks because she is the Independent Administrator, the assets basically belong to her. When she went to put some of the royalties in her name, they asked some questions and made her put it in her name AND my name. She has not done that with other things if the people don't ask the right questions. She makes weird assumptions that can completely change the meaning of things. Hence my questions here.
So, who inherits the assets? Do they basically pass from his parents to him, and then to my sister, and then to me and my mother equally after creditors are paid? Even if some assets are still in his parents' names and my mother is the administrator of his estate?
Facts:
1) Neither my sister or her husband had any children, with each other or with others.
2) My sister's husband was an only child.
3) My sister's husband's parents were both deceased when he died.
3) I am my sister's only sibling.
4) My sister had only one parent (my mother) when she died.
Wow, I think that's all the information. If not, please let me know. Like I said, it's very convoluted.
Thanks.
