danglawyers
Junior Member
South Carolina
Hello,
I hope this comes out as I intend. My mother died last week. As far as I can tell, she was living WAY beyond her retirement means, and was getting herself farther and farther into the hole. We have tax returns and various lender statements that make this obvious.
1) We cannot find a will. No one we know that she would have told such information to has heard her mention such. She was divorced. Her long-term boyfriend is co-owner on the house. Does it (the lack of a will) really matter? Would tracking down every lawyer she ever used for anything and asking if they did any estate planning stuff for her, or would time be better spent elsewhere?
2) As I understand it (which means I DON'T) that with no spouse and no will, SC law says the estate goes equally to all offspring, and one of us will have to become PR and the others sign a quit to that one, or use another PR and everyone signs the quit?
3) There is a lien on the house, and a "home improvement" loan against the value of the house, as well as various unsecured debt. On the plus side, there's a small life insurance policy for the kids. I assume we use the life insurance to pay the creditors if we don't want to sell the house? Or is this something that probate is taking care of, beyond our control? Also if there's no property beyond the car and house, and we can pay off the debt, is probate still a necessity?
4) How do you find assets and debts? I know that most creditors will use clipping services and will know the day after it's printed in the paper and will show up long before their 8 month window closes. Is hiring an attorney helpful for tracking down other assets that no one but her might have known about?
5) Yadda yadda yadda. I know you've all read it before and I thank you for reading it yet again, but I'm very frustrated at all the unknown variables.
Thanks.
Hello,
I hope this comes out as I intend. My mother died last week. As far as I can tell, she was living WAY beyond her retirement means, and was getting herself farther and farther into the hole. We have tax returns and various lender statements that make this obvious.
1) We cannot find a will. No one we know that she would have told such information to has heard her mention such. She was divorced. Her long-term boyfriend is co-owner on the house. Does it (the lack of a will) really matter? Would tracking down every lawyer she ever used for anything and asking if they did any estate planning stuff for her, or would time be better spent elsewhere?
2) As I understand it (which means I DON'T) that with no spouse and no will, SC law says the estate goes equally to all offspring, and one of us will have to become PR and the others sign a quit to that one, or use another PR and everyone signs the quit?
3) There is a lien on the house, and a "home improvement" loan against the value of the house, as well as various unsecured debt. On the plus side, there's a small life insurance policy for the kids. I assume we use the life insurance to pay the creditors if we don't want to sell the house? Or is this something that probate is taking care of, beyond our control? Also if there's no property beyond the car and house, and we can pay off the debt, is probate still a necessity?
4) How do you find assets and debts? I know that most creditors will use clipping services and will know the day after it's printed in the paper and will show up long before their 8 month window closes. Is hiring an attorney helpful for tracking down other assets that no one but her might have known about?
5) Yadda yadda yadda. I know you've all read it before and I thank you for reading it yet again, but I'm very frustrated at all the unknown variables.
Thanks.