I have "legal insurance" coverage through my employer - it works just like medical insurance but covers personal legal matters instead. I have been working with a lawyer on a probate with the understanding that the insurance company will cover the costs, but my claim was denied. Do I have any recourse with either insurance company or the lawyer I have been working with? [more inside]
posted by blindcarboncopy on Nov 30, 2009 - 12 answers

Both of my wife's parents died. Her dad first in January, now her mom in September. My wife is the oldest child. No will was left. What do we do? [more inside]
posted by Bageena on Nov 18, 2009 - 24 answers

If person A leaves something of value to person B in their will, with the stipulation that it be left to person C if B should predecease A, what happens if A & B die semi-simultaneously [say both are in the same car accident] and it can't be determined who died first? [more inside]
posted by HiroProtagonist on Oct 13, 2009 - 13 answers

Probate/mortgage/house question. You are not my lawyer, just looking for a general sense of how this will work. I am on the deed of my mother's house. She is dying of cancer. I am not on the mortgage, which is for about 90% of the home's value. When she dies, what will happen? I cannot afford to pay the mortgage prior to selling the home unless I rent out the property, which I don't want to do (would prefer to sell). [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 24, 2009 - 9 answers

My dad's accounts are designated POD (payable on death) to me. Is that overriden by his listing of those accounts in his total assets, which his will divides among me and others, and which will is going to take some time to execute? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 10, 2009 - 6 answers

Since I am a lawyer (though of course, not your lawyer, and not his lawyer), a family member asked if I could help him with some issues regarding a durable power of attorney (NY State). Unfortunately, I'm not a trusts & estates lawyer, so I need some direction as to what I should look at and consider in order to let him know whether he should consult a lawyer with that expertise. I know you're not my lawyer, and I'm not seeking your legal advice. [more inside]
posted by Caz721 on Jan 30, 2009 - 5 answers

How can I choose the best lawyer? [more inside]
posted by xanthippe on Aug 19, 2008 - 12 answers

What is the literary or legal term for a second will that suddenly appears after someone has died, in addition to one that had been taken to be the real one?
posted by cogneuro on Apr 27, 2008 - 8 answers

I'm receiving a sizable inheritance in the form of stock from a deceased relative. However, there's fairly good evidence that the person who's managed the relative's affairs all these years (due to this relative being incapable of managing their own affairs) has intentionally sold a vast majority of that stock because they didn't want to draw down their own inheritance. If I contest this, though, there's a clause in the will that cuts my inheritance to $1. Do I take the stock that's offered me, or should I risk it on recovering the rest? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 16, 2008 - 37 answers

I need probate law advice. My sibling is acting unilaterally to dispose of personal property and accessing our father's bank account before the estate has gone to probate. How can I stop this? [more inside]
posted by pussyfoot on Jan 16, 2008 - 13 answers

[Child of Divorce Filter]. I have discovered I have the ability to view a 400+ page set of documents that are the sum of my parents' bitter legal divorce. On one hand, I hope it may shed some insight for me on people I never really knew. On the other hand, I fear doing this may cause a lot more emotional baggage than it will be worth. What do you think? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 26, 2007 - 39 answers

On the advice of my attorney, I have created a living trust to be the official owner of all my possessions. That way, when I die, Sra. and Baby Carp don't have to wait for stuff to go through probate. The one part I am missing is that I have to put all real estate, financial accounts, and vehicles into the name of the trust. The accounts are easy, but I can't find where to change the title to our house in DC or to our vehicles, also in DC. So, how do I go about re-titling, well, everything?
posted by carpographer on Aug 17, 2007 - 10 answers

Someone died. Does her family have to keep paying the mortgage payments? Does interest keep accruing? Can they rent it out during this period? There was no will. (This is in California.) [more inside]
posted by salvia on Jul 22, 2007 - 9 answers

A friend has been contacted by a private investigator who represents a "successional" or "probate" genealogist in Europe. I was very suspicious, perhaps because of the amount of entertaining Nigerian spam I've received, but at first glance things seem relatively legitimate. Is this a common thing, and what steps do one take to deal with it? [more inside]
posted by lackutrol on Mar 22, 2007 - 5 answers

My mother collects back child support from my father on a monthly basis, in the event of her death who will receive it? [more inside]
posted by Mijo Bijo on Feb 10, 2007 - 8 answers

Anyone know California probate laws. Heres a question. My father passed away with no will leaving me, and his other son as sole beneficiaries. However I was adopted by my step dad when I was 8(I'm 30 now) I guess he had a drug problem and couldn't do the dad thing. I did live with him as a baby, and my biological mom was married to the guy who adopted me. So do I still have claim to half the estate????????Only thing I found is probate code 6450, but not quite sure if it applies. I called a couple attorneys but they wanted $$ for consultation
posted by highgene on Jan 11, 2006 - 8 answers

When you die, what specific information and instructions (beyond user names and passwords) would you need to leave for your heirs to deal with your email accounts, web hosting accounts, domain names, affiliate accounts, forum memberships, mailing list memberships, etc?
posted by redneck_zionist on Nov 17, 2005 - 25 answers

I need advice on how to select a competent, reasonably-priced estate attorney knowledgeable in Maryland probate law. Ancillary question: how important is it that he or she be a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel [more inside]
posted by mojohand on Apr 11, 2005 - 1 answer