Stocks No Benef./Alcoholic Executor

New York State

My father passed away April 2008. I am his only child. After he suffered a stroke 4 yrs. ago, I obtained power of attny, took over paying his bills, etc. while he lived in a nursing home. I had his house transferred into my name (to protect his assets), he had a joint checking acct. with both of our names, I sold many of his belongings at a house sale, sold the house last year...Most of that money went for his nursing home costs. Some of the house money I put into CD's in my name ($20k) for his care. That is still intact.

Then he passed away. My cousin is named as executor on his will and then myself. He also left her $5k and the rest to me. His bank accts. are empty after paying bills, etc. He had only enough $$ in his life insur to cover funeral costs. So all of his assets and money are gone.

EXCEPT: He had some STOCKS Only valued now at $550, they have plumeted over the last couple years. I tried after his stroke to have them transferred in my name, to cash them in, sent the bank the POA pwork, etc. Several times I did this, they kept saying they never received it, didn't know what I was talkiing about....Then they said they wouldn't recognize the POA because it was over a year old, they req'd their own POA form dated w/in the past 30 days. OR a recertification of the previous POA by an attny. I had the later done by an attny. They still didn't recognize it.

Then my father died. So, I called them again and told them the situation. I sent them a death certificate. He didn't have a beneficiary named on his acct. So, it will have to go to PROBATE they said.

The ISSUE: My cousin a money grubbing drunk who took advantage of my father in his final years and contributed to his confusion, illness, and general well-being. I don't want her to get a penny. (She asked for her $5k from my father about 6 yrs ago - the nerve. He told her to get lost. Then she asked me for it after his stroke. I told her the same.) The only time I've spoken w/ her in the last few years was when she was drunk - she's a SEVERE alcoholic.

I do not speak to her. She knows nothing about any of his affairs. She rescinded her responsibilities of Health Care Proxy when he ended up in the hosp. w/ pneumonia last yr. She was too bothered by the hosp. calling her. I made the decisions all the while.

I'm not sure what to do. I was ready to just let the bank have the $550 because the cost of probate and dealing w/ my cousin isn't worth it. But, because they are stocks, I'm not sure what the value might be in the future or how long they will keep the acct open. They currently have the acct. opened and the value has been fluctuating. The statements come to my address w/ my dad's name on them.

The bank - HSBC- is not very cooperative and I'm extremely frustrated w/ them. I have no idea how much probate would cost, if it's possible to have her executor status revoked, or if I should just leave it in the acct., let the bank absorb it?? ?????

THANKS

below is a link to a site that might have some info to help you...


Save time and money when you wrap up an estate in New York.

New York offers a probate shortcut for "small estates." This makes it easier for survivors to transfer property left by a person who has died. You may be able to transfer a large amount of property using the following probate shortcut -- saving time, money, and hassle.

Simplified Probate Procedures
New York has a simplified probate process for small estates. To use it, an executor files a written request with the local probate court asking to use the simplified procedure. The court may authorize the executor to distribute the assets without having to jump through the hoops of regular probate.

You can use the simplified small estate process in New York if the property, excluding real estate and amounts that must be set aside for surviving family members, has a gross value of $20,000 or less. N.Y. Surr. Ct. Proc. Act § 1301.

https://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/616DDEBC-C5B4-44D0-917CCAAFADE80935/catID/9F594B71-B41B-4513-923BF19B4D9ACDAA/309/227/ART/

NOTE: yes the above site is selling something. I am not associated with the site. But the the OP could read what is available for free on the site and do further searching on the topics.

As the executor who actually did the work, you are allowed to pay yourself a fee.. for small estates it's 10%... if you search the internet you'll find tables that list the amount you are entitled to.

$550 is 10% of $5,500. Sound like the estate was more than that before you started paying the bills.

Guess there is nothing left to give your cousin her $5,000... so sad

My father passed away April 2008. I am his only child. After he suffered a stroke 4 yrs. ago, I obtained power of attny, took over paying his bills, etc. while he lived in a nursing home. I had his house transferred into my name (to protect his assets), he had a joint checking acct. with both of our names, I sold many of his belongings at a house sale, sold the house last year...Most of that money went for his nursing home costs. Some of the house money I put into CD's in my name ($20k) for his care. That is still intact.

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While you may have acted in good faith and used your father's assets for his care, your actions could be called into question. An agent acting under a POA should not be transferring ownership of the principal's assets into the agent's name. If this cousin comes out of the alchoholic stupor long enough to probate the will and gain appointment as the estate's administrator, she could make your life miserable by demanding an accounting of your actions.

And, if you are acting in good faith, why do you think that the $20K in CD's should not be part of your father's estate?

I don't want her to get a penny.

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Put simply, that is not your call.

anteater said:

While you may have acted in good faith and used your father's assets for his care, your actions could be called into question. An agent acting under a POA should not be transferring ownership of the principal's assets into the agent's name. If this cousin comes out of the alchoholic stupor long enough to probate the will and gain appointment as the estate's administrator, she could make your life miserable by demanding an accounting of your actions.

And, if you are acting in good faith, why do you think that the $20K in CD's should not be part of your father's estate?


Put simply, that is not your call.

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My father signed the deed of the house over to me. I know people do this all the time to protect their assets, so that the nursing home doesn't suck up every cent they have. That is the only reason this was done. My cousin will never come out of her alcoholic stupor. The $20k from the house is in my name. My father was 85 yrs old and suffered from dementia, he could not take care of his own affairs. The cd's were put in my name because the house was in my name.

I appreciate your advice BUT I do not appreciate your calling into question my intentions when it's my cousin who made my father's life miserable for his last few years of life. She almost killed him while he stayed with her once. He ended up in the hospital. I'm sure it was no accident. I will do everything I can to make sure she gets absolutely nothing - she will drink it all away.

You don't need to provide any further advice unless it is constructive and non-accusatory.

Don't pick a fight when you have both hands tied behind your back.

From your first post.

I had his house transferred into my name

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From your second post:

My father signed the deed of the house over to me.

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The cd's were put in my name because the house was in my name.

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Nice bootstrapping logic.

I know people do this all the time to protect their assets, so that the nursing home doesn't suck up every cent they have. That is the only reason this was done.

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And, if your father had needed to apply for Medicaid, that would have resulted in a period of disqualification. (By the way, did he file a gift tax return?)

My cousin is named as executor on his will and then myself. He also left her $5k and the rest to me.

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His will is what it is.

You know, my first post assumed that you acted in good faith and only meant to point out some of the potential difficulties if you get into a sparring match with your cousin.

As for your second post.... Res ipsa loquitur.

Has the will been submitted to the probate court yet?

What month and year will the CD come to maturity?

The bank was acting properly in not giving the $550 to anyone except the executor who is supposed to present them with a document called letters testamentary, authorizing that person to be the executor and thus to claim the money to distribute to all legal heirs in probate.

If the cousin does not know about the $550 and has not filed to open up probate you should tell her about it so she can.

I don't get the problem with the house and the 20K in CD's.

Her father put the house in her name, basically giving it to her. So in reality it was no longer part of his estate. Legally she could do anything she wanted with it. She sold the house used some of the cash to support her father's medical expenses. She bought 20K in CDs... from the proceeds of a house that was in her name, so she put the CDs in her name.

I understand the medicaid thing.... but she was using the money for his expenses anyway. A paper train could have shown how the funds were depleated.

Please explain how a house put in her name was not hers to do with as she choose? (The answer to this could go a long way to helping in the case I'm fighting right now.)

Her father put the house in her name, basically giving it to her.

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Did he? Or was the original post more honest?

I had his house transferred into my name...

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ADDITION:
You realize, don't you, that this never was a "protect the assets from the nursing home" game? It is a "if father has assets when he passes, how do I screw the cousin" game. And, if the cousin has destroyed as many brain cells as the OP indicates and the OP does not get greedy, it will probably work.

Darn that HSBC! They just would not get with the program.

anteater said:

Did he? Or was the original post more honest?



ADDITION:
You realize, don't you, that this never was a "protect the assets from the nursing home" game? It is a "if father has assets when he passes, how do I screw the cousin" game. And, if the cousin has destroyed as many brain cells as the OP indicates and the OP does not get greedy, it will probably work.

Darn that HSBC! They just would not get with the program.

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You need NOT COMMENT on my questions any longer. You make assumptions based on semantics when you know nothing of my situation and have a lot of nerve making accusations.

My father just died a little over 3 months ago. I'm trying to figure out what to do with this situation and it certainly is a very difficult time for me made worse by a cousin who cared nothing for him or myself. She called me the day after he died and screamed at me for not including her in the obituary - that he wrote himself. I was his only child. You are rude, mean, and insensitive.

Everything i said is the truth and I have not contradicted myself. You should not be giving out advice. Don't you know people are vulnerable and emotional when they have lost someone? I have all I can do to keep myself together, spent the last few years giving up my life for my father. He spent 5 mths in the hospital last year w/ pneumonia, on a ventilator, feeding tubes, etc. My cousin saw him 3 times and then gave up and asked me for some of her things back because she said he "just needs to die". This is how sick she is. I had to watch my father suffer for a very long time. I live in AZ and spent 5 mths back in NY at his side EVERY DAY. I loved my father very much and wanted nothign but for him to be happy and healthy and I had to make decisions all by myself. Because there is no one else. There is no other family.

I'm an emotional wreck, because I also lost my mother last year. She dropped dead of a heart attack in May. 2 months later, my father went into respiratory arrest and had a seizure, was in ICU. etc. My life has been a nightmare for more than a year.

Have a little compassion and don't assume you know what is going on in anyone's life, especially when they've lost a loved one. ________________________
As for the other people who have tried to help me. THank you.

The cd's yr anniversary is in Oct. I don't know anything about a gift tax. The house was only worth $33k. I have kept track of everything, have paperwork from everything I've done, including everything of his I sold, his car, his antiques. All of his bills, paperwork, etc. All of the money except the $20k went into his care. And about $200 left over in his checking after funeral expenses, etc. I put $20k in cd's rather than putting them into the savings, so it could earn something. The rest of the house money went to medical bills, the assisted living facility....

My dad lived in an assisted living facility after his stroke. Very expensive. We had to pay out of pocket for 2 yrs before he was eligible for Medicaid. That wiped out all of his savings. If my cousin had her way, he would have lived in a county nursing home and she would have taken everything he had. I had POA, he had enough wherewithall to sign it over to me along with the deed. I made sure he lived in the best facility even though it costs his savings. If I were greedy, I would have tried to keep his savings to myself. My father had always had a joint checking account with both of our names on it, in case I ever needed access. I never used it until after I had POA and then I payed bills, etc.

A few months after his stroke at the advice of some attny's, he signed over the house to me, I had the house signed over,...whatever...it's the same thing. I was acting on behalf of my father and had an attny come with the ppwork, and my Dad signed it. THERE. 3 years later he was eligible for medicaid. However, he hardly was able to take advantage because he ended up in the hospital most of last year. He was released in Dec., but was in and out w/ complications for a few months, and then passed in April.

My cousin knows nothing. The only reason my father had her in his will and as executor was because I lived away. He trusted her and she took advantage as soon as he got sick. She's had nothing to do with him since his stroke, except to antagonize him and confuse him. The staff at the assisted living home would attest to that, as they've told me how on several occassions they heard her trying to get access to his money and instigating arguments between he and I.

She doens't know about his stocks. Nothing has been done with the will. She hasn't spoken to me since I saw her at his funeral - where she was drunk.

I don't want anything to be long and drawn out. We're only talking about a few hundred dollars. I'd rather the bank keep it than she get anything. And I'm sure my father would feel the same. Regardless of what he put in his will. I know the legal system doesn't care about that though.

My original concern was; if I do nothing, will the bank close the account and absorb the $550? I already sent them a death certif. Or will it sit there and flucuate with the stock market until someone claims it?

I don't even want to talk to my cousin. If I tell her she as executor has to file probate or whatever the process is, for the distribution of the will or whatever...she's probably do nothing. If I tell her about the HSBC acct., she'll probably do whatever it takes to try to get something.

I don't want to get into a battle with her. I'm too exhausted to care at this point.