gifts prior to death

[plbdib]

what is the name of your state? texas i was given ee bonds from my father before he died my mother andmy father are the names on the bonds, my parents are both deceased. since these were gifts from my father before he died am i required to report these to the estate? also, the distribution of the contents of the house were hand written on a piece of paper, as executor, legally what am i responsible for concerning the contents of the house? i am still waiting for probate. can i remove items from the house before probate?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

what is the name of your state? texas i was given ee bonds from my father before he died my mother andmy father are the names on the bonds, my parents are both deceased. since these were gifts from my father before he died am i required to report these to the estate? also, the distribution of the contents of the house were hand written on a piece of paper, as executor, legally what am i responsible for concerning the contents of the house? i am still waiting for probate. can i remove items from the house before probate?

My response:

You never said how many heirs may be entitled to the Estate. Are you an "only" child?

As for the Bonds, yes. That's because they are still in your father's name and there's no way to tell they were gifts. Had they been gifts, your name would have appeared on the Bonds. Also, without a court order, and a proper division of the Bonds, there's no way you could cash them.

As for the contents of the home, the contents are not yours until a judge says so - - and that's done by way of court order. If you take anything, you could be held liable for theft. The fact is, nothing is yours until a judge says it's yours.

IAAL