How would I know if my deceased mother had a will in New York City ?

If the will was probated, it would be public record. You have to contact the local probate office in the county where she died. New York has some...

Do i need to go to go to probate if i am named as the successor trustee in mom's living trust?

I would see an attorney because now you would be a fiduciary with great responsibility. Probate is only after death and only if not all the assets...

Was my father's small estate handled correctly according to PA law?

What does "potential gap of vulnerability of interests" mean? Is that from something you read b/c it does not sound familiar to me. If there was...

Why would a lawyer write a will for someone if all assets went to joint surivor

Mr. Schultz is correct. There are a number of reasons a will would be written even if assets are set up to pass non-probate. Such as accounting...

Father passes away recently, no pod, beneficiary or estate executor, we would like to avoid a probate what can we do?

Whether or not there needs to be probate is already decided - based on how he owned his assets and his debt situation. If he had debt and had...

Yes, it will hold up the process. To what extent and for how long depends on the situation. For example, if he/she is trying to remove the named...

Can we access our deceased son's bank account without setting up an estate?

Ms. McNicholas is correct. Regarding the debt it is only debt of the estate and if that is truly all he had (the bank with $500) I would be...

Beneficiary designation for convenience

Perhaps this is a common thing in WA but it is not common in any state I practice or have every heard of. I think this is a monumentally stupid...

Mother has Dementia.. Brother has all the legal powers on her behalf. How does he access estate to cover her care?

I think we need more detail but if your mother is incapaciated legally and she has an agent (under POA), guardian (by court order), or trustee...

How do I make my daughter, who lives in another state, my DPOA?

In some states the agent has to sign, not in others. It's a good practice to have the agent sign. In my states I will mail a copy of the executed...