If we take the money, do we have to be executors of his estate?

[andreagreynolds]

What is the name of your state? West Virginia, but father died in Florida.

My father, who I have been estranged from my entire life (his choice) and who barely ever paid child support (a few years at most), died recently. He didn't name my sister and I the benefactor of anything. His life insurance policy was given to his brothers and sisters. He has a 401K/profit sharing account, which his brothers and sisters tried to cash to no avail. We have been informed that we can have the money (My sister and I). If we take this money, and it turns out there is no executor of his estate, can we be liable in the future to pay any of his bills??

 

[BlondiePB]

Who told you that the money was yours? You stated in your other thread that there was no beneficiary.

06-24-2005, 05:58 PM
andreagreynolds
Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2

Estranged from father, weird situation


What is the name of your state? West Virginia...but father died in Florida.

My father died March 29 of this year. I didn't find out about his death until his sister contacted me in June. She had been trying to find me before he died, but wasn't successful. I have been estranged from my father (his choice) for practically my whole life. We missed his funeral. His sister, my aunt, informed me that my father had a 401-K (actually profit sharing) with his place of employment in Florida. She had tried to cash it, but there was no beneficiary named and so apparently they said, only his children could have access to the money (unknown amount). I called his place of employment and they said they didn't know what they could do, because noone was named beneficiary. They said they would get back with me (and have yet to do so). I have one sister, but other than that, my father had no other children and never remarried after he and my mother divorced.
He had no living will and I am not sure if anyone was named the executor of his estate. He was hospitalized for six weeks before his death, so I am sure he has lots of hospital bills. It is possible that noone stepped forward to be the executor of his estate for this reason. He really had no assets: no home and probably not much of a car...
My question is...what is going to happen to this money? And is there any way that my sister and I would be able to get it? I am sure he would have wanted us or his family to have it.


#2 06-25-2005, 06:08 AM
BlondiePB
Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Bikini Atoll
Posts: 1,831


Check the records on line in the county in FL where your father was domiciled to see whether a probate case was opened. Without reading the papers from your father's 401K, no one can determine whether or not that money goes to his estate or not. If you do not find a probate case, you will require an attorney in FL to obtain Letters of Administration to deal with this matter.

 

[andreagreynolds]

Right, the company he worked for called back and said that the money will go to us. They said that it would first go to his wife (and there is none), secondly to his children and thirdly to the estate. Now I am worried about being responsible for his bills if I do take the money.

 

[BlondiePB]

Right, the company he worked for called back and said that the money will go to us. They said that it would first go to his wife (and there is none), secondly to his children and thirdly to the estate. Now I am worried about being responsible for his bills if I do take the money.

Thank you. You are not responsible for his bills. The executor pays final expenses/bills with his estate. With that good news, I would suggest that just in case of a probate estate contest, you and your sister not "blow" the money. Contests can be very ugly, especially when there's bad blood.

 

[freespeech]

Right, the company he worked for called back and said that the money will go to us. They said that it would first go to his wife (and there is none), secondly to his children and thirdly to the estate. Now I am worried about being responsible for his bills if I do take the money.

In addition you better check out the tax liability on these funds when withdrawn. Some retirements funds (IRA's come to mind) have the same tax consequences to the heirs as it had to the person who died.

I agree do not spend the money yet!

 

[andreagreynolds]

Okay...I don't know if there is an executor of his estate. Knowing the family, there isn't one. Do I have to step forward? I believe his brother was named beneficiary of his life insurance, because they buried my father and took care of all that (we were not notified of his death until several weeks afterwards). Even though, I seriously doubt anyone stepped forward as executor. My dad didn't really have much when he died. He rented a room out of a house and probably didn't have much of a car. I am just worried there is some unsettled debt that I don't know about; and that I will end up having to pay it off.
There isn't any bad blood between the family and I (we just don't know each other) and his sister told us about the money and gave us the name of the company and phone number to call to retrieve the money.
We have a friend who is a tax consultant and he is going to let us know how much to save back for taxes.

Is there anything else I should be wary of? Getting a large sum of money is going to be a blessing, but it is also making me nervous.

 

[andreagreynolds]

More questions:

What happens if there is no executor of his estate and noone is willing to step forward?
And if there is an executor, do they have some entitlement to this money?
What is a probate estate contest and how does that affect me?

Sorry, I really have no experience in any of this. I appreciate your time! Thanks guys.

 

[andreagreynolds]

By the way: I have already taken all the necessary steps to have the 401K/profit sharing funds sent to me. I sent all the info my father's employer needed today and they will be "processing" the paperwork as soon as they receive it. Getting more and more nervous...

Also, would his brother's and sister's have any entitlement to this money?

I am full of questions...sorry!

 

[BlondiePB]

In the event that an intestate probate case needs to be opened for your father, one of his siblings that live in FL would be appointed the executor. A contest is where family dispute/fight over the estate and assests. You will not have to turn the money over to the executor of the estate unless there is a contest/dispute over it and you are court ordered to do so.

Do check the tax implications and just hang on to the money for a little while in case there is a contest. By what you have written, it sounds as though things in FL are being taken care of, so relax. You can read FL statutes about probate under Estates and Trusts at this link www.flsenate.gov/statutes

You are very welcome for the help.