Augustgrad
Member
What is the name of your state? SC
My mother passed away nearly a year ago in a hospital. This was a rather sudden death that was not expected. She had no will and no assets other than a car and a mobile home that will likely be foreclosed on sometime this year that she inherited that is in nearly valueless condition. At the time, my older half brother (56), was living off of her and is still squatting on the property. After the funeral which my dad paid a large portion upfront for, things quickly soured between me and my brother when I stopped contacting him as he was looking for his next place to stay. There is a longer backstory to this but the only reason I was ever cordial to my brother was for my mother's sake when I would visit her because she had forgiven him for things he did in the past.
I do not live in the same town this occurred in but am in state. After a month or so of the funeral, my brother, ever the schizophrenic, eventually sent a threatening text that he was going to file charges against me for 'stealing my mother's will' which she never had. This is completely asinine to me because I am of the understanding that any will would automatically come into play upon her death with whichever law firm she filed it with. Not only that, but whoever was willed what would not matter since debts (mainly funeral expenses) must be paid first. After this, he proceeded to try and get my uncle and aunt to say they witnessed my mother saying she wanted him to have a car prior to her death. They've refused, but my uncle remains an advocate for him. To put this in more context, my half brother is 56, never owned his own home, never lived on his own, never purchased a vehicle for himself, or held a steady job for more than 6 months. He wrecked my mother's previous vehicle while driving under suspension and it was my father who paid the deductible to get her her current vehicle before she passed.
I filed to be representative of the estate to begin probate as I was already the one who planned the funeral, wrote her obituary, cancelled insurance, social security, and the various other tasks that needed to be handled. As it turns out, my brother after his schizo text had also filed for representative. Even after two other subsequent trips down to the small town where my mother lived, I get told the same thing- that I need a lawyer since my brother and I will contest one another. The thing is I want nothing. I know my mothers estate is worth virtually nothing and that debts will claim anything or value- mainly her vehicle. Which my brother has been illegally driving with no license, no insurance, and a stolen tag. He is utterly terrified of losing this car and was asking about it moments after her death. He also was recently arrested for driving the vehicle with no license, no insurance, no plate, and an attempt to defraud (I'm assuming this means a fake plate). The vehicle was temporarily impounded but some way, some how he got the vehicle out.
It seems absurd to me that I have repeatedly been told that I need to spend money for legal representation to settle a valueless estate when all I want is for debts to be settled. This has to be a relatively common occurrence since I imagine an estate can't sit for eternity without it being settled. And to make matters worse, one of the only items of value in the estate is being illegally driven daily by a petulant child and from my understanding, the estate is liable if he were to wreck. So- what are my legal options in this case? Am I literally going to have to spend money to stop someone from breaking the law daily in order for debts to be paid? I would think there has to be a case where a judge can simply rule in a bench trial in matters like this? I get that no one wants to work for free but its beyond ridiculous to me that since my brother was financially dependent upon my mother, he has been able to wantonly break the law and sell off items of my mother's since I am essentially held for some kind of bureaucratic ransom for what would legally occur anyway. If anyone could offer any advice- even if they are legal longshots like contacting the SC attorney general, I am all ears and would be immensely grateful for any advice.
Two additional points of note- I've heard that estates under a certain value can avoid probate. I am sure my mother's would qualify IF they knew the condition of the property as I imagine at this point it is only the lot that has value. But I have no idea to begin that process. Also, I've recently heard of the concept of 'guardian ad litem' but I am not sure if one would be relevant to this case since they seem to only involve cases where young children are involved.
My mother passed away nearly a year ago in a hospital. This was a rather sudden death that was not expected. She had no will and no assets other than a car and a mobile home that will likely be foreclosed on sometime this year that she inherited that is in nearly valueless condition. At the time, my older half brother (56), was living off of her and is still squatting on the property. After the funeral which my dad paid a large portion upfront for, things quickly soured between me and my brother when I stopped contacting him as he was looking for his next place to stay. There is a longer backstory to this but the only reason I was ever cordial to my brother was for my mother's sake when I would visit her because she had forgiven him for things he did in the past.
I do not live in the same town this occurred in but am in state. After a month or so of the funeral, my brother, ever the schizophrenic, eventually sent a threatening text that he was going to file charges against me for 'stealing my mother's will' which she never had. This is completely asinine to me because I am of the understanding that any will would automatically come into play upon her death with whichever law firm she filed it with. Not only that, but whoever was willed what would not matter since debts (mainly funeral expenses) must be paid first. After this, he proceeded to try and get my uncle and aunt to say they witnessed my mother saying she wanted him to have a car prior to her death. They've refused, but my uncle remains an advocate for him. To put this in more context, my half brother is 56, never owned his own home, never lived on his own, never purchased a vehicle for himself, or held a steady job for more than 6 months. He wrecked my mother's previous vehicle while driving under suspension and it was my father who paid the deductible to get her her current vehicle before she passed.
I filed to be representative of the estate to begin probate as I was already the one who planned the funeral, wrote her obituary, cancelled insurance, social security, and the various other tasks that needed to be handled. As it turns out, my brother after his schizo text had also filed for representative. Even after two other subsequent trips down to the small town where my mother lived, I get told the same thing- that I need a lawyer since my brother and I will contest one another. The thing is I want nothing. I know my mothers estate is worth virtually nothing and that debts will claim anything or value- mainly her vehicle. Which my brother has been illegally driving with no license, no insurance, and a stolen tag. He is utterly terrified of losing this car and was asking about it moments after her death. He also was recently arrested for driving the vehicle with no license, no insurance, no plate, and an attempt to defraud (I'm assuming this means a fake plate). The vehicle was temporarily impounded but some way, some how he got the vehicle out.
It seems absurd to me that I have repeatedly been told that I need to spend money for legal representation to settle a valueless estate when all I want is for debts to be settled. This has to be a relatively common occurrence since I imagine an estate can't sit for eternity without it being settled. And to make matters worse, one of the only items of value in the estate is being illegally driven daily by a petulant child and from my understanding, the estate is liable if he were to wreck. So- what are my legal options in this case? Am I literally going to have to spend money to stop someone from breaking the law daily in order for debts to be paid? I would think there has to be a case where a judge can simply rule in a bench trial in matters like this? I get that no one wants to work for free but its beyond ridiculous to me that since my brother was financially dependent upon my mother, he has been able to wantonly break the law and sell off items of my mother's since I am essentially held for some kind of bureaucratic ransom for what would legally occur anyway. If anyone could offer any advice- even if they are legal longshots like contacting the SC attorney general, I am all ears and would be immensely grateful for any advice.
Two additional points of note- I've heard that estates under a certain value can avoid probate. I am sure my mother's would qualify IF they knew the condition of the property as I imagine at this point it is only the lot that has value. But I have no idea to begin that process. Also, I've recently heard of the concept of 'guardian ad litem' but I am not sure if one would be relevant to this case since they seem to only involve cases where young children are involved.
