ladydee

[ladydee]

What is the name of your state? tennessee

My father passed away leaving his sister beneficiary on his 401k and life insurance. He did not have a will. My mother never married my father nor put his name on my birth certificate although they lived together until I was a teenager. I am 21 now. My father didn't own any realestate. He had his personal property , two automobiles, the 401k and life insurance. I ask my aunt ( my father's sister) for my Dad's car and she wants me to buy it from her. This is not in probate since she is beneficiary she is just collecting her money and taking care of a few small debts. My question is, do I not have any rights to my father's car or personal belongings since his name is not on my birth certificate? MY Dad loved his 1992 car and I would like to have it but I don't feel right about paying her for my Dad's car. Thank You

 

[rmet4nzkx]

While your parents were never married, nor his name on the birth certificate, if they openly lived together for many years and if he openly acknowlaged you as his child, you could still have some claim as his heir, these links have a summary of paternity laws for your state.
http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/paternity-law-digest.php/TN/TN-598P.htm
http://www.divorcetn.com/d10.htm
Was paternity ever established or acknowledged, did you use his last name, did he he pay child support and or have visitation after they separated? Did any of you establish paternity? Did he hild himself out to be your father?

You may have exceeded the statute of limitations for establishing paternity since it is 3 years past majority and you are already 21, it may still be possible if other factors are in place. Did your parents ever live in another state, one recognizing common law marriage?

If your aunt has not filed in probate, it is possible that you may be able to file in probate court since he left no will, contact your county probate court.

When a person dies intestate, after the payment of debts and other expenses of the estate, a person's property passes to their heirs at law. Under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 31-2-104, if the decedent has a spouse and no children then the entire estate passes to the surviving spouse. If the decedent has a spouse and living children, then the surviving spouse receives either one-third, or a child's share, whichever is greater and the remainder is divided among the children. If there is no surviving spouse but surviving children then the entire estate passes to the children. The statutes go further and direct how assets are to pass if there are no children or a surviving spouse. Only if there are no surviving heirs-at-law under the statutes would the property ever pass (escheat) to the State of Tennessee.

A probate administration is only required if there are assets in the decedent's individual name, or assets payable to the decedent's estate such cases require probate documentation for transfer of the assets. If you have a Will and all of your assets pass to named beneficiaries or joint owners, then there is no need to admit your Will to probate. However, if you have assets in your individual name or if there are assets payable to your estate, then your Will will have to be filed with the Probate Court and admitted to Probate to obtain the assets.

Under Tennessee Statutes a probate estate must be opened for at least four (4) months from the time Notice to Creditors begins to run in the local newspaper. After said time period the estate can be closed as soon as all assets have been collected, all creditors paid, and the tax release letter received from the Tennessee Department of Revenue. If all of the estate issues are resolved at the end of the four (4) months or shortly thereafter, then the estate can be closed. Many estates that do not have to pay inheritance taxes, and that are not involved in litigation, can and should be closed within four (4) to twelve (12) months from opening. Larger estates that must pay inheritance taxes, estates involved in litigation and contested estates can be prolonged for more than a year and years in some cases. However, the prolonged estates are not necessarily the norm nor do they have to be.

If a Will has to be admitted to probate and an estate opened for a deceased person or if an intestate administration is opened, then there are probate court rules and statutory guidelines regarding how the estate is to be administered. All assets collected on behalf of the estate have to be held under the name of the estate and in specific estate accounts. Executors are not allowed to pay any creditors that they choose. If a creditor is owed more than $1,000.00, then that creditor must file a claim against the estate. Creditors owed less than $1,000.00 can be paid at the discretion of the Executor. Certain fees and costs incurred by the estate must be approved by the Court. If accountings are required to be filed in the estate, then any expenditures made by the estate must fall within the expenditures allowed by the rules of the Court and the statutes. People commonly make the mistake of thinking that they can pay anyone for any services as long as they are named as Executor. However, there are checks and balances to the administration of an estate, and the activities and administrative steps taken by an Executor/Administrator are governed by specific procedures.

 

[ladydee]

Tennessee: I don't have my father's name, we never lived in another state. After my parents seperated I lived with my father for a few more years. Will it cost me lots of money to get this in probate just to get my Dad's car?
Thanks for the reply

 

[BlondiePB]

ladydee,
The car was not why rmet referred you to having a Probate case opened for your deceased father. If you do not have a Probate case opened, you'll never know exactly how the Life Insurance policy, the 401K, and any other bank account that your father had titled to any beneficiary, if there actually was a beneficiary, or if your father included you as a beneficiary. An executor of an estate can sell the car to you and other property of the deceased. Read the Probate laws for you state. They are available on line. Intestate means died without a will. As your father's daughter, you have rights.

 

[BleedingHeart]

What is the name of your state? tennessee

My father passed away leaving his sister beneficiary on his 401k and life insurance. He did not have a will. My mother never married my father nor put his name on my birth certificate although they lived together until I was a teenager. I am 21 now. My father didn't own any realestate. He had his personal property , two automobiles, the 401k and life insurance. I ask my aunt ( my father's sister) for my Dad's car and she wants me to buy it from her. This is not in probate since she is beneficiary she is just collecting her money and taking care of a few small debts. My question is, do I not have any rights to my father's car or personal belongings since his name is not on my birth certificate? MY Dad loved his 1992 car and I would like to have it but I don't feel right about paying her for my Dad's car. Thank You

Was there common law marriage in Tenn. back then and how many
years would your mom and dad have to have lived together to make
that? Better yet, if your Mom is still living, ask her. Being that he is not
listed as your father on your birth certificate, paternity would be hard
to establish now, unless it is possible to establish with his sibling's DNA.
You would have to make a phone call to an Attorney (free) to find out
how you can establish paternity, if you can at this point. Also ask them
about the 401K, a federal program, if you were an Heir as opposed to a
bene. could you retrieve this at some point in the near future?
Just because his sister was a beneficiary of some of his policies does
NOT make her an executor or administrator of his estate. **(You should
check with the County Courthouse in which he lived to find out if anyone
has filed to be in charge of his estate and inquire if there was a will, even
though she "said" there was not.)** There can be many assets that he
could own that you are not aware of. If you can show some kind of "proof"
that you were blood related, you would take priority over a sister by Law,
but, you would have to file for it and possibly secure an Attorney.
(Is there a way to find out how much the 401K is worth?)
Beneficiaries are not the same as Heirs. Benies have to be listed as such,
Heirs have Some legal rights, even if they are not listed, (different by
State Laws.)
I would not put too much effort into aquiring a 1992 vehicle. It's 10 years
old!! You can ask her how much she wants.
The only downfall to this is that she may sell whatever he had and he may
possibly owe more debt than he had in assets. You will never know though
unless you make a couple of phone calls. Then weigh all the "ifs."
The sister, on the other hand, could be telling you the truth.
I am sorry for your loss. ~Mary~

 

[ladydee]

Tennessee, Thanks for the reply. She wants 5,000 dollars for the car. It is a 1992 nissan 300zx. I just wanted it because my Dad really loved it. I assumed on the 401k and life ins. that since she is listed as bene , that she legally gets all that. I assumed she was telling me the truth because how else could she collect it if she wasn't bene. She also stated that she wanted to keep it out of probate. I have an older brother but his birth certificate is like mine. He also grew up with my Dad. We have our mother's maiden name.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Tennessee, Thanks for the reply. She wants 5,000 dollars for the car. It is a 1992 nissan 300zx. I just wanted it because my Dad really loved it. I assumed on the 401k and life ins. that since she is listed as bene , that she legally gets all that. I assumed she was telling me the truth because how else could she collect it if she wasn't bene. She also stated that she wanted to keep it out of probate. I have an older brother but his birth certificate is like mine. He also grew up with my Dad. We have our mother's maiden name.

Until and unless you can prove paternity, you have no rights to anything. Therefore, if you want the car you need to purchase it.

Plain and simple.

 

[Dandy Don]

Check at the county courthouse probate court to find out who, if anyone, is the official executor of the estate. If it is the aunt, then she has authority to sell the car to you. If it is NOT her, then stop dealing with the aunt.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[BlondiePB]

Tennessee, Thanks for the reply. She wants 5,000 dollars for the car. It is a 1992 nissan 300zx. I just wanted it because my Dad really loved it. I assumed on the 401k and life ins. that since she is listed as bene , that she legally gets all that. I assumed she was telling me the truth because how else could she collect it if she wasn't bene. She also stated that she wanted to keep it out of probate. I have an older brother but his birth certificate is like mine. He also grew up with my Dad. We have our mother's maiden name.

I am not going to disagree with the other posters, especially about proving via DNA about paternity. I just question why your aunt wants to keep everything out of Probate. I would not just assume she would be telling me the truth without seeing the documentation that it is, indeed, the truth.

 

[ladydee]

Thanks guys for all the replys. I have spoken to a tennesse attorney about all of this and she suggest probate for alot of the reasons that have been adressed here. She said even if my aunt gave me the car, another family member could take it to probate and I may lose it anyway. She also said that tennesse state laws on beneficiary are not so simple as the money goes to the benificiary. My aunt will not tell me how much $ in the 401k but she did inform me that she was going to put her two kids thru colledge with it. My father had no kids back when he named her bene, I wasn't born yet. She said if we have to prove paternity, we have a good case for it or if need be we can prove it thru my dads brother via dna. I just don't feel right about all of this, I guess because they are keeping me in dark. I don't like hard feelings in the family but I think it would be best to go to probate. Thank you all so much