h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ickle bit...

Why the should I pursue this? I already spent half an hour playing hide-and-go-seek on the phone to learn what we already pretty much knew--that there's no will. (Part of that time was due to the fact that the website I got phone numbers off of was out of date, while the rest was due to the fact that it was the *court* clerk I wanted, not the county clerk, and also that the automated system for the Del Norte County Superior Court doesn't have 'Clerk' as an option, and no way to get back to the main menu...) And, from research done on my behalf (without my asking) I know that you have to be a blood relative or adopted to contest the county when there's no will. And that, to find out if it's even worth doing so (if I could even do it, which I can't anyway) I've got to go into a branch of Daddy Bob's bank in person, because, since I'm not a signer on the account, I can't be given any info over the phone (which I understand--over the phone, I could be anybody) But why the should I go to the trouble to find out what assets he had? If he didn't have enough to bother pursuing, then it wouldn't matter that I can't do anything anyway. If he did, then we'll just know how much we can't do anything about, and go nuts about it. Doesn't do a whole lot of good to know that if someone'd gotten around to being responsible (as several people had been told verbally that he wanted me to get most) the car could be paid off, or at least mostly, and maybe other stuff, as well (student loans, build savings back up, ability to afford passports and airfare even) Eesh, even discussing this makes me sound like a mercenary b*tch.

What you need to do is forget about it. There is no point in working out what you *could* have done had he had a will and given you what he wanted you to have. The simple fact is that, by not having a will, Bob made a mistake. It's done, it's over and there is (apparently) nothing you can do about it.

I don't think that you sounded like a "mercenary b*tch"....... but then I probably just sounded like a "heartless bas*ard".

Amy, if you're not a blood relative and there was no will, it's completely out of your hands. His assets, whatever there was of them will go to whatever version of Orphan's court you have in California, and will be divided up according to the law. That may or may not involve them looking for people who might have had a stepchild relation to him, but will definitely involve them looking for his blood relations.

At any rate, this stuff all happens very slowly... say about 2 years before anyone who *does* inherit anything actually sees what's left after the IRS and any creditors get their cut.

It's only money. Have I ever inherited so much as a penny from anybody? nope. Does it bother me? Nope.

There was a story in our local newspaper about a woman who died "unexpectedly." We looked closer, and discovered that the woman was 97.

She must not have expected to die.











Ever.

I'm not looking for the money, either (though it'd help a lot--things are just a *bit* tight atm), which is why I wanted to just drop the whole thing...

Which makes what I found out at the bank even more jaw-dropping. Didn't have the paperwork I needed to get any info (need the death certificate), BUT it turns out that if I bring in the death certificate (which is in the mail to me right now) and sign some bank paperwork, and the estate is less than $100,000 (I doubt it's half that--no property or even a car) then that's that, and it'll be up to me to apportion as I see fit.

How can that be, if there was no will?

Do you have power of attorney? Or was the bank account in your name too?

It sounds too easy, Amy. There must be a hidden catch or two.

That does *not* sound right. As someone who has just finished administering the estate of my friend (who died 12 months ago today), I can't believe that what the bank has told you is correct (even considering that we are in different countries). Be aware that if it is correct, what you may actually be doing by signing any paperwork is taking on the responsibilities of executor.

A Power of Attorney is only valid when a person is alive (at least it is here in Australia). Once a person dies, all decisions, etc, are in the hands of the executor.

I just thought perhaps if she'd been the one with power of attorney before he died, maybe the bank would consider that and his death certificate enough reason to put her in charge of distributing his assets - not that I was able to remember the word executor at the time.


And how about you? This has to be a difficult day for you. Are you doing ok?

You may be right, Lady Scott. I don't know the exact details of all this but if Amy has Power of Attorney, that may go some way to explaining it. But, and this is once again from an Australian point of view, having POA and *not* enacting it before the person dies, renders it a useless piece of paper. In other words, you have to have control of the persons finances before they die in order for a POA to be of any use. If that makes any sense.......

I'm doing okay. Hadn't actually thought about it too much..... until I read these postings.

I'm sorry, ER. I didn't think...

What the paperwork is, is a declaration that I'm the sole surviving heir If the estate *is* above $100,000, then it needs to go through probate (but if it's that much, it'd be worth the bother...) An amount less than $100,000 doesn't need to go through probate. The lady that told me this is a high enough bank officer that she didn't have a name tag....

OK, now I sound stupid

Yeah, well I was initially told that Robins estate (less than $100,000) didn't need to go through probate. But then one finanacial institution (holding about $10000) decided that they required a grant of probate before they could release the funds and that was that - off we went to court to get a grant of probate! Being an executor has, at times, been frustrating, but it was as much fun as Robin told me it probably would be - I got to shout at Government departments, annoy the postal service, be rude to idiots and get away with it (oh, he's terribly upset by all this) and give a telecommunications giant a great big .

I hope that everything is as straight forward as it appears to be, Amy.

And there's no need to apologise to me, Amy. Your grief is more immediate than mine and to be truthful I've really just had a day of feeling a bit rather than incredibly sad.

Amy, I thought he had a daughter who sort of showed up out of the blue shortly before he died? If that's the case, then you're not really the sole heir, are you? All I know is that it's going to have to all be done legally as far as who has rights to his "vast fortune" or there could be a real mess to deal with later on.

Sounds like you had loads of fun ER. Annoy the postal service? Give a telecommunications giant a great big ? You really must do a guide entry (or at least a detailed journal entry) about your experiences.

*rolls eyes*

Personally, I'm glad my brother has been named executor of Mom and Dad's estate, because I *really* don't want to deal with the kind of mess he and Mom have had to deal with since Dad died. Here we are 18 months later, they're *finally* saying that the estate is "just about settled", which loosely translated probably means it won't be more than another year until they're finished. However, his estate is (and will continue to be) tied up in some kind of trust because of the weird way the will was put together. Supposedly this will make it easier to settle the estate when Mom is gone, but I wouldn't count on it being a bit simpler unless she gets a different will drawn up. And even then, only if it's possible to take his estate out of the trust at that time, which I wouldn't count on happening either. Mom said the other day that if she'd died first and Dad had to go through all this hassle, he'd have been furious. Mom has to pay rent to the estate, fer cryin' out loud! To live in her own house!

That's why I had the there, Lady Scott... He'd pretty much disowned his daughters, and probably wouldn't've minded if I'd never gotten hold of any of them to inform them of his death (yes, lovely family relations here...) so would they be heirs? And of course there's Toby, who, although legally an adult (just turned 25), he's mentally... well, I don't remember exactly anymore, but it's around 5, I think. (If he were normal, he'd be the logical one to deal with all this, since not only is he an actual real relative, but he lives in Crescent City, so he's local!) All I know is, when the certificate gets here, I'll be heading to the bank again, and we'll see how it goes from there.

I suspect that even though he'd pretty much disowned his real daughters, they are still legally his heirs, as far as the estate is concerned anyway. When you take the death certificate to the bank, you need to let them know that there are blood relatives - including Toby - but also let them know what the situation is there. I'm sure they've dealth with this kind of mess before, and will know exactly how it should be handled legally.

I know you were hoping he'd put together a will declaring exactly what he wanted done, but even if he'd had a will leaving each of them only a token, they could still contest the will to get a larger portion, because after all, they *are* blood relatives. Even if he didn't leave enough assets to make it worth their while.

I think Lady Scott is right. Without a will, his "blood relatives" are his only legal heirs. Whether he disowned them in life is irrelevant, as he did *not* disown them in death by leaving them out of a will. Don't get your hopes up, Amy. Whatever he may have said means nothing if he does not have a will to back up his words. What I think you'll find is that you cannot sign the paperwork for the bank as you are *not* the sole surviving heir - in actual fact, as you are not a blood relative, you will probably find that you are not an heir of any sort. I'm sorry if that seems harsh, but I think you'll find that the bank will take that stand.

You guys were right--it's not that simple. Did a phone consultation with a probate attorney today. I'm going to quit dragging this legal junk on here, since it's not even interesting. All I'll say is, if you don't have a will already, get one, unless you want to make things as hard as possible for those that survive you. So Tom and I need to figure out who gets Faith if we're both in a car wreck or something...

Actually it *is* interesting... would probably make a good guide entry, actually, because you never know when you might need such information.