Yvette E. Taylor-Hachoose’s Answers

If your mother died without a Will the intestate laws would apply. Under the intestate laws of Pennsylvania, the estate would be equally distributed to her children if she was not married at the time of her death. Since she did not have a Will, there would not be an executor. Someone would have to be appointed as the administrator of the estate to facilitate proper distribution of the estate. This would start with opening up the estate with the Register of Wills. If your siblings are not...

Additional information is needed to answer your specific question. However, if this is set up as a joint account then the death of one joint owner will not freeze the account. The joint owner receives the assets subject to inheritance generally on 50 percent unless ownership interest is determined to be otherwise or a "convenience account" based upon the facts. Note that the Power of Attorney terminates upon death and is no longer valid. If there is not a Will then an administrator of...

As noted by my colleague, it will depend upon your Will. What is your intent? The Will may provide that it would go to his children. You nay want otherwise. You need to check the terms of your Will and have changes made if necessary.

There are a number of complexities involved in setting up an irrevocable trust. Your father's intent has to be determined and his overall estate needs to be evaluated since he would no longer have control over assets placed in the irrevocable trust. An experienced estate planning attorney would be needed in this situation. Do it yourself plans would cause more problems than you may anticipate. Though you can avoid inheritance taxes with an correctly implemented irrevocable trust, you have...

Your husband's cousin has to be concious to grant a Power of Attorney. If the cousin does not regain his capacity to execute a Power of Attorney then the court has to be involved. Your husband would be requesting guardianship to handle his cousin's affairs. Your husband will need the assistance of an attorney to proceed. He does not want to delay this process because there are a number of financial affairs that must be timely addressed.

You have advised that the Will divide the estate equally between 3 of you and I presume the other 2 are your siblings. In order to transfer the deed to the 3 of you, the Will would have to be probated. Depending upon how the Will reads, you can hold the property as Tenants in Common with everyon having a 1/3 interest or Joint Tenants with rights of survivorship with the property passing on to the survivor(s). You do not want to leave assets in the name of the decedent. Though not required,...

Generally, the Will provides whether the estate pays taxes. When there is no Will, the payment of taxes can (and apparently in your situation) becomes an issue. When the inheritance tax return is done, the preparer indicates whether the beneficiaries are responsible for the taxes. However, the estate can not be closed until the tax obligations have been satisfied. You may want to obtain the assistance of probate counsel to help reach an agreement that would be satisfactory to you.

As part of administering the estate, the Executor is required to provide an accounting of the estate. If family settlement agreement or informal accounting can not be agreed upon among the beneficiaries, then a formal accounting must be submitted to the court to close out the estate. This would include the expenses, income, distribution of assets and estate inventory. The inheritance taxes must also be paid. You should seek further legal guidance from probate counsel.

The renunciation is required. Your sister can either got to the Register of Wills with you when seek appointment or you can have her renunciation with you. The renunciation would have to be signed and notarized if you bring it with you. You may want to obtain a probate attorney to assist you through the process if you have further concerns.

I agree with my colleague, if your father no longer has capacity to change the attorney in fact (POA), then you may need to petition the court to obtain relief. You should seek assistance of counsel.