My dog killed a cat in my yard. I have no idea where it came from, but suspect it is not wild. We are traumatized, what do we do? [more inside]
posted by butterstick on Feb 9, 2012 - 70 answers

News and debt filter: Can somebody tell me why it was necessary to have a fundraiser to pay US medical bills for a deceased person? In the USA, if you die with debts greater than the total sum of your assets, your estate is generally liquidated in probate, right? Medical debt collectors can't go after your family for debts they didn't incur... [more inside]
posted by thewalrus on Jan 23, 2012 - 11 answers

What steps do I have to take to ensure I do not inherit anything from my family's estate, even if I'm included in the will? [more inside]
posted by medea42 on Jul 1, 2009 - 17 answers

Is it possible to legally declare someone your next of kin or the equivalent? I know that you can make a will for estates, and medical care proxies and the like, but next of kin make decisions about funeral arrangements and other issues and I'm not sure how to go about covering all the miscellaneous bases out there. I'm in the US/NYS, gathering info before talking to a lawyer about specifics.
posted by voidcontext on Dec 12, 2007 - 14 answers

NYCFilter: If my landlord dies, does that death void my lease? [more inside]
posted by jason's_planet on Nov 28, 2006 - 9 answers

Can anyone tell me about the legal, practical steps of dealing with a person who dies, their dead body? I live in NYC but imagine the steps must be pretty similar all over the US and Europe too. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Mar 12, 2006 - 9 answers