family member deceased

[dbbylvsbrs]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Montana
My aunt on my father's side (my father passed away in April of 2002) of the family passed away on July 5, 2008. My brother and myself are her only living relatives. My brother and myself were not immediately notified of her passing until last week and that was through my aunt on my Mom's side. The attorney that is "handling" the estate at this time apparently appointed the bank executor of the will before my brother and I got in touch with the attorney. I understand that since my brother and I are my aunt's only living relatives, unless she stipulated it in her Will, we are entitled to her estate. I guess my question is basically what do I do in this matter? I think my brother or myself should be executor of her Will and be able to make decisions about her estate. I have been told she has 3 homes and several accounts at the bank and cd's as well, so I assume there is a sizeable amount of money. Just to let you know for law purposes, I reside in Montana and she lived in Iowa. Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this matter.

 

[Dandy Don]

It is probably a good thing that the bank was asked to be executor, since you now do not have to take time away from your job to handle a demanding position that is going to be ongoing for a few months.

The only thing you need to do is to call the Iowa county courthouse probate court to find out for sure that probate has been started, by giving the clerk your aunt's name so they can check their records (if you know what county is applicable, do a GOOGLE search on the name of the county to see if court record information is available for you to check online).

Now that the executor has your address and your brother's address, all you need to do is wait for the probate process to play out and you both will receive a check after probate closes. The executor will be in regular contact with you to report the progress of the estate, so please don't pester him now with lots of questions since it takes time to manage the affairs of an estate.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA

 

[curb1]

dbby,
Have you been notified by the executor that you are a beneficiary?