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paying funeral bills of married/separated brother (intestate)

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DTremere

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? PA

My brother just died in PA (intestate) at 46. He was still married but had been sepaprated from his wife for more than 3 years (she is living in Idaho). He mostly has only debt of more then $15,000, ran up by his "wife" in the past, but also has a car worth about $3,000 more than he owed on it.

I would like to sell his car to recoup some of the $8,000+ spent on his funeral but am not sure I have the legal right since he is still married. It appears to me that his "wife" is not entitled to anything since she left him over 1 year ago.

Can I do this ?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Doug
[email protected]
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
http://www.finance.cch.com/pops/c50s10d190_PA.asp

Pennsylvania Intestate Succession Laws

If any part of a Pennsylvania decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:

1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:

* A surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate if the decedent is not survived by a child or parent.
* If there are no surviving children of the decedent, but there is a surviving parent or parents, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $30,000 plus one-half of the remaining intestate estate. There is an exception to this rule if a decedent died due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which case the surviving spouse gets 100 percent of any compensation award paid under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.
* If the decedent is survived by children all of whom are also the children of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $30,000 plus one-half of the remaining intestate estate.
* If the decedent is survived by children one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate estate.
* When there is a partial intestacy, any property received by the surviving spouse under the will counts towards satisfying the $30,000 allowance mentioned above.

2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows to:

1. Decedent's issue.
2. Decedent's parent or parents equally.
3. Decedent's brothers and sisters, or their issue.
4. If none of the above relatives are available, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or issue of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent or to the issue of the paternal grandparents if both are deceased. The other half passes to the maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or issue of grandparent on either the paternal or maternal side, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half portion would.
5. Decedent's uncles and aunts and their children and grandchildren.

3. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Intestate Succession Law Fun Facts

* Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.
* Relatives conceived before decedent's death, but born thereafter, inherit as if they had been born during decedent's lifetime.
* A spouse who willfully neglected or refused to support a deceased spouse or who willfully and maliciously deserted the deceased spouse for one year or upwards prior to the spouse's death cannot inherit any title or interest in the deceased spouses's intestate estate.
* Likewise, a parent who fails to support their minor or dependent child, who deserts them for a year, or is convicted of certain crimes against the child forfeits the right to their share of the child's intestate estate.
* Evildoers take note! Any person who participates either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact in the willful and unlawful killing of the decedent is prohibited from receiving any benefits from the killing, including a share in the intestate estate.
* Pennsylvania's intestate succession laws, as well as other related laws, can be found in Title 20 of Purdon's Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated.

Copyright 2002 - 2006, CCH Incorporated, a Wolters Kluwer business. All Rights Reserved.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Q: I would like to sell his car to recoup some of the $8,000+ spent on his funeral but am not sure I have the legal right since he is still married. It appears to me that his "wife" is not entitled to anything since she left him over 1 year ago. Can I do this ?


A: No; you are a legal strange to the estate. However, if you are saying you are a creditor of the estate and you paid the funeral bills (your post is not clear), then you may be a preferred creditor. If so, you may indeed have the right to open an estate and do this.
 

DTremere

Junior Member
clarification

Sorry, I thought it sounded clear... yes, I have paid some of the funeral bills already and since my name is on the contracts, assume I am responsible for paying the remainder (his "wife" did not make any funeral/burial arrangements nor attend the service).

Based on your comments, I assume that makes me a creditor of the estate, trying to recoup the money spent for funeral & burial.

Is that what you meant?

Thanks
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Sorry, I thought it sounded clear... yes, I have paid some of the funeral bills already and since my name is on the contracts, assume I am responsible for paying the remainder (his "wife" did not make any funeral/burial arrangements nor attend the service).

Based on your comments, I assume that makes me a creditor of the estate, trying to recoup the money spent for funeral & burial.

Is that what you meant?

Thanks
Then you, as a creditor, should open the estate.
 

DTremere

Junior Member
opening the estate

I *GREATLY* appreciate your thoughts & input, and I am sorry if I sound clueless here. I have tried to call the Common Pleas Court for advice but they would only tell me to get an attorney. I am just trying to gather a better understanding of it all before I do that.

My (hopefully) final question is: I don't fully understand what is meant by "open the estate"? Does that just mean to get an attorney and start the process?

Thanks again for your time!
Doug
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
I *GREATLY* appreciate your thoughts & input, and I am sorry if I sound clueless here. I have tried to call the Common Pleas Court for advice but they would only tell me to get an attorney. ...Courts will not give legal advice.... I am just trying to gather a better understanding of it all before I do that.

My (hopefully) final question is: I don't fully understand what is meant by "open the estate"? Does that just mean to get an attorney and start the process? ...Yes....

Thanks again for your time!
Doug
dsf.chesco.org/wills/lib/wills/pdf/smallestate.pdf

Probate laws are murky and difficult and intetionally so; it helps keep lawyers employed.

In any event, I don't know how much money you are talking about, but if it is a small estate, you can use the law found at the above link. If you are going to do it yourself, then you will have to do a lot of reasearch.
 

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