What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? TX
I've already received legal advice not to probate my dad's will which names me and my son as sole heirs because he had alot of debt and no assets left to speak of (no property, no house). The last few months of his life, he was hospitalized several times during the course of which he gave me POA and made me a co-owner of his business checking account. I sold his business and he spent most of the money before he died. We also opened a joint personal account so I could pay his bills while he was incapacitated.
Since there was no life insurance or annuities that left me as primary beneficiary (see "Contesting Beneficiary" post in Life Insurance and Annuities section), I used what was left in his business account to pay for most of his funeral, waited a month to be sure there were no outstanding checks or payments, then closed the account (a little over $100 left in it). There was a small amount of money left in our joint personal account and I transferred it to my own personal account to avoid paying extra banking fees. Did I have a legal right to do this? Could I face any kind of legal action from creditors? The amount left in the joint account was not even 10% of what he owed. The lawyer said don't worry about it, but I guess I'm looking for a second opinion.
I've already received legal advice not to probate my dad's will which names me and my son as sole heirs because he had alot of debt and no assets left to speak of (no property, no house). The last few months of his life, he was hospitalized several times during the course of which he gave me POA and made me a co-owner of his business checking account. I sold his business and he spent most of the money before he died. We also opened a joint personal account so I could pay his bills while he was incapacitated.
Since there was no life insurance or annuities that left me as primary beneficiary (see "Contesting Beneficiary" post in Life Insurance and Annuities section), I used what was left in his business account to pay for most of his funeral, waited a month to be sure there were no outstanding checks or payments, then closed the account (a little over $100 left in it). There was a small amount of money left in our joint personal account and I transferred it to my own personal account to avoid paying extra banking fees. Did I have a legal right to do this? Could I face any kind of legal action from creditors? The amount left in the joint account was not even 10% of what he owed. The lawyer said don't worry about it, but I guess I'm looking for a second opinion.