OK, the plot thickens......i called the mutual fund again and told them how the law in the probate code says that if i meet all requirements, and i do, that this is what i legally need to procure the fund.....
*A certified copy of the decedent's death certificate.
*Evidence of ownership: In certain situations, if the decedent had evidence of
ownership of the property described in the affidavit, it must be attached to the
affidavit, if available. Otherwise, the holder of the property may be permitted to
require that the successor of the decedent furnish an indemnification bond or
undertaking as a condition to the transfer of the property.
*Copy of consent: If a probate of the decedent’s estate is pending and the
decedent's personal representative consented to the transfer of the property, a
copy of the consent and the court letters issued to the personal representative
must be attached to the affidavit.
heres what they told me.....NO!!! They said they require all that PLUS a, and i quote, "a certified copy of letter of appointment of legal representative".
So i call the local probate court and she tells me that the above IS PROBATE ! In other words, here i am doing a small estate affidavit to avoid probate and they are telling me that to get this certified BS thing which IS itself probate !
She also just kinda laughed and said "yeah, they all try and give you the runaround...it's typical". But that runaround seems to be their normal procedure that they probably make everyone do in hopes they give up their quest. So in other words, even if i do all the law requires they will still refuse.That only means one thing to me...they'd be forcing me to get a lawyer and sue them, which it the exact thing i'm trying to avoid in the first place by not doing probate !!! (well, not sue, but get a lawyer)
So the question is, who's right, who's wrong, and the one thing i don't understand, why is no one on either end, the court or the fund asking me for my ID ? Each side has told me the things i need, but none of them is a official way to establish who i actually am !!! I can go with what the court clerk told me and just follow the instructions, but how does the fund even know that i AM the legal decedent or successor or heir, whatever the right term is ? It seems to me the notorized affidavit, a death certificate, and some form of ID would be all thats needed. But why no form of ID is requested either in the probate code for transfer via small estate affidavit or by the fund is beyond me !