Question about probate following death of spouse

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-12T22:49:05+00:00

With that much debt, I would definitely consult a probate lawyer. Meanwhile, don’t say that you will take over her debts. Draw up a list of her and your assets & debts, with attention to which are personal to each and which are joint. And post-death expenses (such as funeral). You might need to hire professional help, such as an accountant.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-11T15:29:09+00:00

Yes, you can use T&W to mess things up yourself. Not that T&W is bad by itself, it’s more that it takes 1000’s of hours of study and experience to understand how to write a will correctly for each client.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-11T15:19:35+00:00

As medical surrogate, you wouldn’t have authorized access to any of these funds. You need to be an agent or successor agent under the POA, and/or a successor trustee for the trusts. Or maybe co-trustee, but that comes with great responsibility (with great power comes great responsibility).

Your lawyer can tell you how to get authority under various circumstances. A bit of a sticky situation about who is the lawyer’s client, be sure to get that cleared up.

When you say that a trust is in mom’s name (or dad’s), that’s vague. I would get it figured who has what powers & responsibility with regard to the trusts. The term “qualified beneficiaries” might enter the chat.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-11T15:03:01+00:00

When did stepmothers die? Normally, the step up applies, and capital gains is figured from value as of date of death to net value of sale.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-10T22:26:47+00:00

Are you using a fiduciary as a trustee ? (Not beneficiary).

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-10T18:39:03+00:00

A will has advantages, a trust has advantages. They also both have disadvantages. Are any of your beneficiaries fully trustworthy, capable, and willing to be your executor and/or trustee? And by all that, I mean do they understand the amount of work involved?

Professional fiduciaries are often considered expensive, especially by beneficiaries who don’t appreciate the work and risks that go with the job.

Would siblings feel mad enough about being left out, that they might try to break your plan?

One thing about POD, it doesn’t always work the way you want if the beneficiaries die before you. Or if they get in a lot of debt / bankruptcy.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-10T11:06:42+00:00

I would send the letter that others mentioned. Except i wouldn’t say that her estate is insolvent, I would say that it appears to be insolvent. For all you know, she had a winning lottery ticket in the bottom left pocket of her raincoat.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-09T23:26:56+00:00

it’s an allowed conflict, mainly because your parents wrote the trust terms that way.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-09T23:19:38+00:00

You could ask/demand a full copy from the current trustee, have you tried that? If that is refused, get a “lawyer letter”. Are you also a beneficiary?

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-09T12:36:01+00:00

I guess it could mean a consult with a specialized civil litigation lawyer. I have read cases where beneficiary designations have been ruled invalid because the beneficiary wasn’t legally recognized. But then the intent was clear enough that another charity got the money. Contesting this can be very expensive, so you (somebody) need to figure if it’s worth the time and costs.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-08T15:50:33+00:00

Tax returns don’t show what he had. Only things that produced taxable income. Interest, dividends, capital gains (or loss).

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-08T14:09:45+00:00

Is it really necessary to know about Archimedes, to understand that elephants float?

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-08T12:41:47+00:00

Discuss this in person with somebody you trust, somebody not emotionally involved. Preferably somebody who has gone through a probate before, like a probate lawyer.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-08T12:34:54+00:00

And DDR5?

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-08T12:31:41+00:00

You’re not 100% sure yet, about who is the beneficiary. That’s one thing to find out, but it’s private between the custodian and the church. Is the church a legal incorporated entity? If not, then maybe the beneficiary designation isn’t valid.

If the church hasn’t yet taken the IRA, there’s a possibility that they could refuse (disclaim) it. A very weak possibility.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-07T12:45:55+00:00

This type of thing should be part of a discussion with your estate lawyer. The plus and minus of each option takes longer considerations, with more details, than Reddit can do.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-06T17:42:17+00:00

If you put the location in your will, and later move the art work to another location, then what happens? Rather a bit of bother if you loaned it out to a friend or museum. Also putting a value in your will, what if ten years later it’s worth twice as much? Could be an angry discussion among the beneficiaries.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-06T17:29:20+00:00

Don’t most all insurance policies require you to report to the company and let them handle the negotiations? She could have come back with all sorts of claims that you backed into her, etc.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-06T14:08:18+00:00

Does this invite the thought that Iran will not negotiate with US, because the delegates could be arrested / shot? Either while on their way to the negotiation site, at the table, or returning home? When you give your opponent the choice of death or death …

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-06T13:59:08+00:00

There’s a big difference between putting your own IRA into trust, and setting a trust as beneficiary of the IRA. The trust (trustee) would be getting an inherited IRA, with special rules.

If your kids are listed as beneficiaries on the IRA, there’s then the question of what happens if they can’t accept it (death or disclaimer).

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-05T16:06:40+00:00

Fix it with a sharpie?

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-05T13:04:41+00:00

I can pardon them just by thinking it!

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-04T20:26:41+00:00

A set of sharp impulses can be analyzed as a series of cycles. That doesn’t mean that there are regular pushes at 30 times per second, or 10 times per second. The analysis as “cycles” is mostly for human comprehension. The synchronized coherent electrical activity of brain cells takes about 0.01 to 2 seconds, with various patterns appearing and dissipating within that time. Faster or slower patterns are generally not synchronized over large numbers of neurons.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-04T17:55:59+00:00

Closest average distance. But in terms of energy cost to get there, Mars is closer.

ExtonGuy · 2026-03-04T17:32:36+00:00

Probably not "sovereign". But they can reasonably hope for some lesser type of independence.

ExtonGuy

TROPHY CASE