Transfer of parents home to me

[motownjazz]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

My mother passed away this January and I decided to move into my parent's home (my father preceded my mother in death by 27 years). The house is still in my father's name because at the time of his death, she was still paying the mortgage (the house has since been paid off). I want to know what do I have to do to put my parent's house in my name?

 

[FlyingRon]

You're going to have to probate your mothers estate (and perhaps your fathers).
Was there a will for either parent?
Are there other descendants?
Was your mother on the deed at all?

I don't know which state you are in, but you can get some good starting info here from Calhoun county

http://courts.co.calhoun.mi.us/notes000.htm

 

[nextwife]

You will need to file intestate probate. Depending upon how title is held, perhaps for both. Is mom not on title at all?

This is an estate asset. There may be additional heirs entitled to inherit under your states probate law.

 

[motownjazz]

I have already gone through probate and I am my mother's personal representative. My mother was my father's personal representative. As for the deed, I have to see if her name is on it (at the time when they bought the house, they only looked at the husband's income). There are no other heirs (I was an only child) and neither my mother or father had a will. I need to get this straight so that I can put some insurance on the house in my name. I talked with the company that my mother had her homeowner's insurance through, and they said that I would have to get the house put in my name. I'm afraid that come the new year they'll drop my mother's policy and something happens.

 

[moburkes]

You can get renter's insurance in the meantime. And, the insurance company is supposed to change the policy to read "The estate of", but, no, they will not renew the policy.

 

[HomeGuru]

I have already gone through probate and I am my mother's personal representative. My mother was my father's personal representative. As for the deed, I have to see if her name is on it (at the time when they bought the house, they only looked at the husband's income). There are no other heirs (I was an only child) and neither my mother or father had a will. I need to get this straight so that I can put some insurance on the house in my name. I talked with the company that my mother had her homeowner's insurance through, and they said that I would have to get the house put in my name. I'm afraid that come the new year they'll drop my mother's policy and something happens.

**A: you do not have enough information on this issue. You need to find out who is on title as a result of the outcome after probate.

 

[seniorjudge]

**A: you do not have enough information on this issue. You need to find out who is on title as a result of the outcome after probate.

Yes...the simplest way to do this is to have a title insurance company run a title report.

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I do not own a title insurance company .... but I sure have bought a **** of a lot of it!)

 

[nextwife]

Yes...the simplest way to do this is to have a title insurance company run a title report.

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I do not own a title insurance company .... but I sure have bought a **** of a lot of it!)

Really? Then they must be able to charge more in your state than in ours, because the independent, non"captive" title companies here are shutting down right and left because they can't make a profit at the dog-eat-dog pricing everyone is charging to take business away from the next guy.

 

[motownjazz]

I got the original deed and both my mother's and father's names are listed on the deed. How should I go about transferring property to me, through a real estate company or a real estate lawyer? Or do I have to go back through probate?

 

[seniorjudge]

I got the original deed and both my mother's and father's names are listed on the deed. How should I go about transferring property to me, through a real estate company or a real estate lawyer? Or do I have to go back through probate?

Answer these questions:

1. Is the probate finished?

2. If so, was there an order of distribution (or something similarly named) stating that you should have the property?

3. If not, why not?

4. Did pa have a will?

5. If so, who got the stuff?

6. If pa had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?

7. Did ma have a will?

8. If so, who got the stuff?

9. If ma had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?


Answer ALL questions; we will try to help.

 

[nextwife]

IN addition to what seniorjudge asked, also answer whether either estate has creditors who are still owed by the respective estates.

 

[HomeGuru]

IN addition to what seniorjudge asked, also answer whether either estate has creditors who are still owed by the respective estates.

**A: you mean estate expenses....oh that's scary.

 

[motownjazz]

Answer these questions:

1. Is the probate finished?

2. If so, was there an order of distribution (or something similarly named) stating that you should have the property?

3. If not, why not?

4. Did pa have a will?

5. If so, who got the stuff?

6. If pa had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?

7. Did ma have a will?

8. If so, who got the stuff?

9. If ma had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?


Answer ALL questions; we will try to help.

OK Senior Judge, to answer your questions:

1. I don't know

2. If an order of distribution has to do with the distribution of property to one's beneficiaries, the answer is no, since I was her only beneficiary.

3. If my answer was right, because I was the only beneficiary.

4. No; my mother probated his estate when died and became the executor of it. And according to the Wayne County Probate Court records, that case was not closed.

5. My mother did.

6. Me and my mother.

7. No.

8. Me (with the exception of an old life insurance policy, which one of her brothers was the beneficiary).

9. Me, my wife & 2 kids, 3 brothers.

There are two outstanding medical bills that I am in the appeals process with; and other that about 3 accounts that she had that are still open, everything else has been closed and put into the estate, or if they were POD accounts, were closed and transferred to me.

 

[nextwife]

Answer these questions:

1. Is the probate finished?

1. I don't know

You need to pull the probate file and see what the status is. Was a will filed? Was intestate probate filed?

2. If so, was there an order of distribution (or something similarly named) stating that you should have the property?

2. If an order of distribution has to do with the distribution of property to one's beneficiaries, the answer is no, since I was her only beneficiary.

You were the only child, but that doesn't automatically mean you were the only party entitled to estate distribution funds.

3. If not, why not?

3. If my answer was right, because I was the only beneficiary.

Without any probate filing, how did you make such a determination? Certainly you were not the only relative.

So, nothing was done LEGALLY about the estate? Her assets were distributed without any legal proceedings? Were there estate creditors? Was money distributed from any accounts in HER name after her death?

4. Did pa have a will?

4. No; my mother probated his estate when died and became the executor of it. And according to the Wayne County Probate Court records, that case was not closed.

Yikes. That needs to be completed.

5. If so, who got the stuff?

5. My mother did.

But there is no probate court record showing the distribution? Did the estate check to make sure whether any tax filing was necessary?

6. If pa had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?

6. Me and my mother.

He had no siblings? His parents predeceased him?

7. Did ma have a will?

7. No.

Then intestate probate should have been filed, since she had assets, to distribute.

8. If so, who got the stuff?

8. Me (with the exception of an old life insurance policy, which one of her brothers was the beneficiary).

So, you took possession of all assets without any legal proceedings at all? Again, did the estate have any creditors? And were there siblings of the decedant? There was no remarriage?

9. If ma had no will, did he leave any children, any grandchildren, any brothers, any sisters, any spouses, or any parents?

9. Me, my wife & 2 kids, 3 brothers.

Then you are NOT the only surviving relative.

This link will provide you a good breakdown of intestate estate distribution:

http://www.wcpc.us/services/intestsucc.htm

 

[motownjazz]

Dear Nextwife,

I am going to try and answer your questions as completely as possible.

1. I originally went to probate to petition for temporary guardianship and conservatorship. The judge ended up granting me full guardianship and conservationship based on the report from Guardian ad Litem. I looked on the Wayne County Probate Courts website and those cases are still open. No, a will was not filed, but an intestate probate was filed. My attorney that represented me mentioned that I was all set and he did not mention anything to me regarding the closing of a probate, etc.

2. The only distribution of funds that were not POD accounts, or funds that were not deposited into an estate account were from an old insurance policy that my mother started in the 60's.

3. Other than some POD accounts, her retirement and her Thrift Savings Plan (all of which I was the beneficiary), her credit cards and other accounts (IRA's and CD's) have been closed and the money was put into an estate account, which has been used to pay off her creditors.

4, 5 & 6. The probate case that my mother opened in regards to my father was closed. I have not seen any report from probate in this case in regards to any distributions. My father had 2 brothers and his parents (all of which were alive at the time of his death, but are now deceased), and one of his brothers has a child, but I don't know where she is.

7, 8 & 9. My mother had 3 brothers (of which 2 live out of state). She did not remarry. As stated previously, one of her brothers was the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that she had. Her creditors have been paid, with the exception of two medical bills, both of which I have appealed to BCBS of Michigan because they did not pay them.

I would like to ask how would I go about closing a probate case? If the guardian and conservatorship ended with my mother's death, would that end that portion of this probate, or would I have to go back before the judge? Also, would the court send out some documents periodically asking for a progress report regarding my handling of her estate as personal representative? As I stated, my lawyer did not fully explain what I was responsible for after the hearings, so if I seem a bit clueless, that's why.