dividing estate property without will

[Bojo]

My mother recently passed away. She left no will or other instructions to allocate her property. She is widowed and my brother and I are the sole survivors. We are both adults. Her only valued assets (not counting life insurance or work related benefits that will pass equally to us) are her home which she has not remaining mortgage, and soley possess the deed. The value is about 50K. She has about 10k in credit card debt, and no other debts. My brother and I are in total agreement on the division of assets. We are all from Arizona. My questions is: Must we retain an attorney to change the title on the house. Are we resonsible for filing her income tax return. Thank you much for your assistance. bob

 

[advisor10]

2-6-2002

DEAR BOJO:

You or your probate attorney needs to file paperwork at the probate court/county courthouse to become personal administrator of her estate, primarily for resolving the title to the real estate matter. You may want to consult with a real estate attorney and/or a real estate agent or a title company to find out if there is any way to get it changed without having to resort to legal means, but I doubt it.

You also need to open this estate so that any creditors who want to get any outstanding bills paid will know where to send them.

It is the administrator's responsibility to file the decedent's tax return, but if you decide to not hire one and do it yourself, any one of the son's could file the return for his mother (but look inside the tax booklet for special instructions on how it is supposed to be done, including marking on the return that the person is deceased).

SINCERELY,

advisor