Hi, it's me again ! More inheritance trouble

[oczad]

California

You may remember me from the thread where i asked how to claim a mutual fund that my mother left and went thru he|| with the Primerica corp. Well, she also had a annuity which i have been thru the mill with also and need advice. The story is that my sister told me she wants me to have my mother's accounts and the annuity gave us various answers on how to go about claiming it. No one person there seems to have matching information. I finally sent it in after being told all she has to do is send a note saying she disclaims all funds and note that on the forms. We did so and sent it in only to be told that we cannot do it that way ! Been back and fourth with these people just like the mutual fund fiasco. On this one however we are both listed as beneficiary, whereas the fund there was no one listed.

Anyways, heres the question. We are told there is a legal way to "disclaim funds" in Ca and that this is how we have to do it. He said we can do it on our own or hire a lawyer. Obviously doing it ourselves is the way we want to go if possible. He said it was just a matter of the proper forms and doing it right. So can anyone point me in the right direction? thanks much.

 

[tecate]

Now that you have calluses, this should be easier. Be patient.

Look at Probate Code 260 and following for the law.

Does your sister have any children? If so, a disclaimer won't work. Note that the disclaimant is treated as predeceasing your mother, so you will need to be your sister's only heir at law.

Did they say what you did wrong, and how to fix it? Do they have their own forms?

 

[oczad]

Hi tecate !

Actually, let me explain exactly what happened. I first was told she HAD to claim her part. Then my sister and I talked about taxes on the money and how this would be a lot of trouble for a number of reasons. So i said what if we have you claim $1.00. So i asked the fund and they told me we could do it like that. So we were all ready to go that way when a different person there told me no, you do NOT need to do that. Just have her write a letter saying she disclaims and funds. So i send it all in, the forms all notarized and her letter and they reject it and send her another form saying she MUST claim her part. This is where we are now.

However, if what you say is true then we're screwed here because she does have children, tho they are adults if that matters. But the thing is, in talking to them yesterday i asked if this disclaimer she needs to do is probate and he said no. So according to him it had nothing to do with probate, just a legal necessary way for her to disclaim funds. So maybe the children don't matter. I suppose i could call him and see if he can confirm whether or not thats the case, but i'm not sure i'll get the correct answer, plus they are very hard to reach, and lastly they tend not to tell you a lot citing the fact they cannot give legal advice.

 

[tecate]

Sounds like the last time. The person on the other end just doesn't know and you might need to teach him or her. Ask for a quote of the part of the contract dealing with what happens if one of two beneficiaries predeceases the annuitant. Does the survivor get it all, or does the predeceased beneficiary's devisees or heirs get one-half?

 

[oczad]

I can pretty much assure you he won't tell me anything like that. It's apparent from my talking to them that they have no desire to help me by explaining things like that and try to avoid telling me anything beyond "get a lawyer". At this point i think like the other situation all i need is to figure out is where to get the proper forms and what likely obstacles to look out for. I just don't know where to look.

 

[oczad]

Ok, after trying to find the info and forms to do this i have just given up. Can anyone point me to a site with the proper info or recommend some good search terms? I cannot seem to come up with any or find the info i need. Thanks.

 

[Dandy Don]

Why are you trying to do this without the services of an attorney? This is not a do-it-yourself project.

 

[xylene]

Probably some reason they don't want to mention...

 

[oczad]

Simply because i was told it's just a form to fill out and that I don't need a lawyer if i have the correct form. I don't see why i should pay someone to do something thats a simple as that. If i do i may be paying hundreds of dollars or more so an attorney can tell me what form to use. I find that just wrong. The main issue is money, and if i have to pay a lawyer to tell me what form to use i'd just as soon as do it their (the annuity) way and work out the tax details between my sister and I, which is what i was trying to avoid.