What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I am using Massachusetts because this issue is under that State's jurisdiction, I am in Florida but that should have no bearing on my situation.
My Aunt passed away in 2002. At the time, her surviving heirs were my Mom (her sister), her daughter (my cousin), who was mentally challenged and lived in assisted living for many years and myself.
My cousin passed away last October. After her funeral, I was the only one able to attended the funeral. While there I was asked to gather up her few possessions and settle things with the place where she lived. My Mom is 90 years old and was unable to make the trip from Florida to Massachusetts.
While packing up her things, I ran across paperwork that had apparently been in my cousin's possession since my Aunt passed away in 2002. Based on the papers found, an attorney friend suggested I submit a claim to the Unclaimed Property Division in Massachusetts. Upon my return to Florida, I went online and obtained a claim form. I gathered all the information and documents the form said we needed to submit a claim and sent it all in.
Eight weeks later it was all returned marked "not personal representative". We were stumped as the claim form said nothing about probate, estates wills or anything like that. All the materials we sent were apparently acceptable but the personal representative comment had us scratching our heads.
More searching ensued and we discovered that a Will for my Aunt was apparently probated to pay a Medicaid claim in 2008, 6 years after she passed away, and then the estate was closed. The Personal Representative in the probate process was an attorney in Massachusetts no one in our family and extended family seems to know. It may be that he was Court appointed.
I have found that the attorney passed away in 2012. Since he was appointed the personal representative by the probate Court and is no longer living and the Unclaimed Property Division will not process the claim we submitted because my Mom is not the personal representative of anything, does anyone know what, if anything, we can do to get the claim processed?
Thank you in advance for any assistance.
I am using Massachusetts because this issue is under that State's jurisdiction, I am in Florida but that should have no bearing on my situation.
My Aunt passed away in 2002. At the time, her surviving heirs were my Mom (her sister), her daughter (my cousin), who was mentally challenged and lived in assisted living for many years and myself.
My cousin passed away last October. After her funeral, I was the only one able to attended the funeral. While there I was asked to gather up her few possessions and settle things with the place where she lived. My Mom is 90 years old and was unable to make the trip from Florida to Massachusetts.
While packing up her things, I ran across paperwork that had apparently been in my cousin's possession since my Aunt passed away in 2002. Based on the papers found, an attorney friend suggested I submit a claim to the Unclaimed Property Division in Massachusetts. Upon my return to Florida, I went online and obtained a claim form. I gathered all the information and documents the form said we needed to submit a claim and sent it all in.
Eight weeks later it was all returned marked "not personal representative". We were stumped as the claim form said nothing about probate, estates wills or anything like that. All the materials we sent were apparently acceptable but the personal representative comment had us scratching our heads.
More searching ensued and we discovered that a Will for my Aunt was apparently probated to pay a Medicaid claim in 2008, 6 years after she passed away, and then the estate was closed. The Personal Representative in the probate process was an attorney in Massachusetts no one in our family and extended family seems to know. It may be that he was Court appointed.
I have found that the attorney passed away in 2012. Since he was appointed the personal representative by the probate Court and is no longer living and the Unclaimed Property Division will not process the claim we submitted because my Mom is not the personal representative of anything, does anyone know what, if anything, we can do to get the claim processed?
Thank you in advance for any assistance.
