Should I walk away from my deceased brother's tiny estate since he left no Last Will?
My brother died in Georgia, nearly 1000 miles away from where I live. He was unmarried with no children.
Apart from the $16k in his bank account and a non-running, 21 year old car with a lost title, he owned nothing. No house (he was a renter and Stage 5 hoarder; his landlord hired a Hazmat team to clear the place out). No investments. No anything.
As far as I can tell, he has several thousand dollars' worth of final debts (mostly medical). I paid for his funeral expenses, but am willing to absorb that cost.
Because of the distance and my advanced age, I cannot deal with his few assets by filing a "Petition for No Administration Necessary" -- or start any other court proceeding -- in the city in which he lived. The process is too complicated and stressful for such a tiny "estate." After court fees, hiring a lawyer, paying those bills, and months of work and stress, there would be no money left to distribute to me or my brothers. I would be going through legal hell "for free."
My brothers are fine with letting it go. Are there any legal perils if we simply walk away?
You have no legal requirement to administer his estate, and if you are not on his debts, then no one can compel you to take on this responsibility. That said, you say his estate consists of $ 16,000 in bank deposits, and "several thousand" in debts. Have you actually gotten a quote from a Georgia lawyer about doing "no administration necessary" ? The court fees are modest and with reasonable legal fees, I think their could be a big difference between $ 16,000 and "several thousand" in bills. The process itself is not terribly difficult consisting mostly of the petition and the written agreement between the heirs. But to answer your basic question, no, there are no "legal perils" to just walking away. Good luck.
My response here is meant to be a general answer to your legal question posed in a public forum without a detailed factual analysis. Please don't act on anything you read here without consulting an attorney to whom you have presented the entire factual situation. No attorney-client relationship is created by my answer to your question.
Pamela M M Holcombe
Probate Attorney in Saint Augustine, FLMy guess is that the funeral expenses, attys fees and your PR/executor fee are absolute priorities in the GA probate estate and are paid before any bills of creditors. My further guess would be that the funds will probably be just about sufficient to reimburse your for the funeral costs, your personal representative or executor fee, and the cost of the attorney. I would bet there is some simplified procedure for small estates and that the lion's share of the bank account would be going into your pocket. Most states allow for the executor to charge a reasonable hourly rate for their services. IMHO, it is worth consulting.
Loraine M. DiSalvo
Probate Attorney in Alpharetta, GAActually, Georgia does not have a small estates proceeding. You are correct about the priorities, however.