address on death certificate.........

What is the name of your state? my mother lived in GA.

My sister called me today, saying she had recieved my mothers'
death certificate in the mail.... she then told me she would have to apply for a new one, because the address listed on her death certificate was my sisters' apt, (where the certificate was mailed to) which is in another state., and that she could not probate my mothers' will until the address was changed to reflect my mothers actual address. (The states are different b/c the residence of my sister and my mother are on the GA-SC state lines, but only about 3 miles apart!)

Is my sister stalling for time, or actually telling the truth?

Stalling for time, but don't let on that you know she is doing just that. The court doesn't particularly care about whether the address is correct or not, they just want a certificate that verifies that a death occurred.

If you haven't already gotten a copy of the will you need to request one. Do you know for sure whether there are enough assets in the estate that probate IS required? Why would she be stupid enough to delay probating the will if she is also a beneficiary along with you who is going to get paid from it? Tell her to go ahead and get the will probated and the corrected death certificate can be provided when it comes in later on.

Thanks, Dan. To answer your question... I have NO idea, other than basics of what is left in her estate. I told you of some CD's and an insurance policy. My sister also said that her hospital bills would probably "eat up" the insurance policy. Also, there should be 6-10 thousand in her bank account. Thats all I know. I do have a tape and several witnesses to her saying that she left me "everything", because my sister had "gotten plenty out of her after my daddy died, and you, (meaning me) didn't get nothing."

She also wants to hire a lawyer, who is an old boyfriend of hers, albiet 25 years ago. He is now married to a very good friend of hers. I don't like that idea, but I'm 1000 miles away...........

Who is the official executor of this estate supposed to be? That is the person who gets to decide whether or not a lawyer's advice is needing to be hired or not.

I would tend to believe that what she is saying is true about you being the one who was left everything because there would seem to be no other explanation as to why she would say it if it wasn't true. Probably jealous and is now deliberately trying to keep you in the dark. The explanation about hospital bills eating up most of the insurance money is also very questionable--if you are the beneficiary of the policy then that money isn't even supposed to go into the estate. And the saddest part of all is the fact that you only want to continue posting questions on this message board about this sorry situation instead of demanding the information you need to protect your financial interests in this estate--how long are you going to let her keep putting you off so that she can possibly steal from the estate or keep you in the dark as long as she can. If she is not a beneficiary then she has no business doing anything in handling estate matters!!!! The CD's have designated beneficiaries and along with the insurance money could be worth tens of thousands of dollars--do you even know who the beneficiaries are? Why aren't you retaining the services of a probate attorney in the same county where the death occurred to fight for you???

Dandy Don is correct in that you need to retain an estate attorney in Georgia. Have you seen the will and do you know who is named as the executor. Immediately send your sister a letter CRRR requesting a copy of the will. I would also contact the doctor and get a copy of the death certificate for yourself. Why are you waiting on her?

I also question the comment about the insurance assuming it is life insurance. This is not a part of the estate and goes directly to the beneficiary.

If she does not produce the will file for probate yourself requesting that the court name you as executor.

Before you decide to have a court name you as executor, talk to an attorney to find out whether Georgia permits an out-of-state resident to be an executor--some states allow it and others don't. Obviously if you can afford to take time off to be at the courthouse to attend the court hearings, then you should hire a probate attorney to serve as executor instead.

well............

OK.... THIS is the reason I keep asking for advice on here rather than jump to hire an attorney right away.

I AM THE OFFICIAL EXECUTOR of her estate, however my SISTER has the only document that verifies that. (1998 will)

My mother had a will in the late 70's. My mother and I were estranged then, and she left all of her property to my sister and her husband. They are now divorced. About 10 years later, my mother drew up another will, and my sister and I were given 50/50 of the estate. (I could deal w/ that) Meawnwhile, in 1998- my mother realized that my sister was paying her own bills through my mother..... electric bill ("momma stay here 3-5 days a week").... groceries (momma eats here"). My mother bought a luxury car in 1997. Sister and her hubby decided mom could not drive safely, took her keys and her car. Sold the car... $$$$$

In 1998, my mother had her NURSE to take her to the JAG office and make a new will. This is the will that names me as sole beneficiary-- I AM TOLD, even by my sister. My mother returned home, called me and told me what she had done. THis conversation is on tape. She also told many relatives.

When I realized my sister had packed my mothers apartment, shortly before her death, I was furious. She tells me that SHE knows momma left me her furniture, etc, etc. When I got to the funeral, my sister said I could come by and take what I wanted from the storage utility, ( also paid through my mothers account, even though half of the things in there belong to my niece, currently in Germany)

I did notice that major items were not in the storage utility.... washer/dryer/refrigerator, dining room set........ but I did see 2 things I dearly want, and my mother made it clear they were mine.
NOW WHAT I'm "lagging" for...

I am named as EXECUTOR in the 1998 will. However, I cant SERVE as the executor until the will is probated.....

I have none of these wills. MY sister has the latest one... (1998)
If I piss her off, she could destroy it..... and I have ZERO. She could clean out the storage room....and I lose again. The JAG office is looking for a skeleton copy, but it will be unsigned, and therefore useless if a SIGNED one is produced...

If I hire a lawyer, and demand the will be probated NOW, then I could piss my sister off and lose everything. I plan to call her this week, and let her (innocently) know the address does not matter as much on the death certificate, and that I think she needs to go ahead and probate the will. I mean, if I just wait and let her get a corrected certificate, she files for the life insurance policy, and BOOM realizes that I am the beneficiary- won't she be forced to go through me before doing anything with it? In addition, if I DO get a copy of the death certificate, take it to probate court, they will use the one from the 70's.... unless my sister produces the 1998 one. There again, I am screwed.

SO......... tell me once again, after you have read all of these additional facts, and tell me what to do. Step-by-step..... as I am "legally ignorant"..... and I won't drag my behind. I just think there is too much to lose to risk pissing my sister off.....

THanks again!

Let me be sure I understand you-- my sister can not get access to the life insurance policy, cash it, or deposit it into my mothers account, and then pay bills from it, mainly a medical bill, correct. As I understand, even if she DOES get the policy, she can't do anything with it, since I am the beneficiary, correct?

sorry this is almost a novel, but I wanted to tell you all the facts, so I don't have to post again and make you think I am stupid.

What I fail to understand is why you did not request the will and insurance policy while you were there? You knew that your sister was removing items.

I don't think that you should be concerned about making her mad. She has already shown that she is going to do everything possible to prevent you from getting your share of the estate. My suggestion would be to show up on her doorstep and request the documents. In all likehood she is going to refuse and then the fun starts.

You will have to make a decision on whether there is enough in the estate to fight over. Dandy Don is correct in that you cannot serve as executor since you are out of state. This also applies to your sister since she is in SC. This means you will have to hire an attorney and this will probably cost you between 2000 and 5000 and could easily exceed this.

Since your mother had moved to your sister's home and that address is on the death certificate it may be easier on everyone to propate in SC. If the two of you can reach some type of agreement then you could go to the probate court together and avoid giving your money to the lawyers.

If your mother had sizeable medical bills then all of her assets will have to be sold to pay the bills. If you are the beneficary of the insurance policy then it goes directly to you and anything your sister does to try to obtain that money would be illegal. Good luck.

Get price quotes or fee estimates from more than 1 attorney before you decide which one to use. After you explain the circumstances of your particular situation, a sympathetic attorney might agree to your request to hire him only on an hourly basis as needed, or may agree to a percentage fee of whatever the estate is worth and may even agree to a fee far less than $2000-$5000.

The advantages are all or mostly in your favor, and you don't even realize it!!

If you are named beneficiary on the insurance policy, then there is no way that the insurance company will pay your sister. YOU are the one who will get paid when you contact the insurance company. Has your sister even given you the name and/or address or policy number of the insurance company so you could contact them yourself?

Even if sister destroyed the will (which is possible but probably not what actually happened), then the estate would be probated "intestate" which means you and your sister would share, so either you or her or an attorney either of you hired would have to file to become administrator of the estate. Give her a deadline of 7 days and inform her that if she has not filed to be executor or hired an attorney to do so, then you will be doing just that. At some point she will soon need to decide if she is going to turn over the will or not, and during the probate process she is going to have to provide all information about the estate assets.

This sister's lack of cooperation is what is causing the problem here, but stop being so afraid of "pissing your sister off"--she is the one in the wrong and she needs to be responsible for her unethical behavior. YOU have more to lose by doing nothing and SHE is the one who will lose everything if the 1970's will is probated. Get probate started as soon as possible so that you can get your share of this estate!!

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])