Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My nephew even denied me the ability to get death certificates from the coroner, and I had just 2 days before had to sign a waiver so that he and my niece could have the coroner take care of my brother.
Anothet red flag: Your nephew has no standing. The nephew has no legal right to deny you anything. Maybe your niece, but NOT your nephew.
Please, this is so upsetting. Get a lawyer and then you can mourn properly.
I'm not a lawyer but one of the problems I see here is that nothing was filed with probate in 2001 when your mom died. If you have a will or some other legal documentation to 'prove' that your mom left the house to your sister and brother, I think you would be off the hook. Sister's daughter, your niece, would inherit and you are out of it (which seems to be your goal, correct?)
But the house is still in dead mom's name, right? (Sorry to be so blunt) Without something to show that MOM left it to your sister and brother, YOU would be the owner of that house by the rules of inheritance (you are your dead mother's daughter.) Guess who the county is coming after when the taxes go unpaid, when the weeds and garbage gather and fines are incurred, etc.
You need a probate attorney to get you out of this, especially if im correct that the title to the house is still in mom's name! Even signing a quit claim deed ang giving the house free and clear to the niece has issues related to gift tax (and even at a supposed value of $45000, you have a gift tax problem).
I'm not trying to scare you. I'd bet this is easily resolved if you are willing to just give up the house. But it's considerably more complex and requires a probate attorney, who may well be able to charge the estate for his services.
Thank you for your candor..You have hit the nail on the head. And, please be blunt, I am not scared of the truth....if I had had the truth all along, this wouldn't be happening.
I never wanted the house, I live 2500 miles away, and I have since 81'. Years ago when my Mom asked if I would be her executor, I asked her to have my sister do it. She lived there, it just made more practical sense.
And herein lies the problem.....I have always been led to believe that the house was left to my Sister, she never told me otherwise, she....she never shared any information with me. And, according to my niece there is a will saying so. I've never seen any will, or anything else. My sister paid the taxes by writing a check...which anyone can do.
I am trying to avoid being on the hook for a house that I had been told was my sisters....and brothers. I certainly am in a catch 22, like cully said...I don't want to claim inheritance on a house that I don't want to claim....
Last edited by JanND; 09-10-2014 at 10:57 AM..
Reason: edit text
Anothet red flag: Your nephew has no standing. The nephew has no legal right to deny you anything. Maybe your niece, but NOT your nephew.
Please, this is so upsetting. Get a lawyer and then you can mourn properly.
California is a community property state, so if the niece inherited ownership, her husband also has legal ownership rights.
OP, I agree that you need a lawyer in California to help sort all of this out, and to not say or sign ANYTHING until you have gotten more info. And my deepest condolences for your losses, what an awful, awful thing to have had to have gone through.
It is very tangled. When you get a lawyer you can answer more simple, "I have a lawyer" or "Have your lawyer contact my lawyer". You'll begin to feel better soon.
Thank you all so much. Your kind suggestions are comforting. emm74, you are right, it has been very hard the last couple of years. And, to make it harder, my poor brother, who had been fighting SSDI for years, had just finally gotten his award and the monthly compensation had just started. He was so excited to finally feel like an adult who could make his own decisions again.
This situation is bringing up a lot of grief....and I am trying to make the right decisions....or will as soon as I can at least talk to an attorney. I have an appointment in the morning for a local probate attorney.....at least a start. I cannot find a good source of referrals for California probate attorneys that doesn't involve a third party business. If anyone has any suggestions or links, or referrals please post them.
cully, you are so right, my niece just called, I didn't answer. She has not called me since my brother died. My husband has always said, she and her husband have their own agenda.
My nephew even denied me the ability to get death certificates from the coroner, and I had just 2 days before had to sign a waiver so that he and my niece could have the coroner take care of my brother.
A death certificate is a public document. You just have to order one from the county. I don't understand how your nephew can "deny you the ability" to get a death certificate.
A death certificate is a public document. You just have to order one from the county. I don't understand how your nephew can "deny you the ability" to get a death certificate.
As others have said, you need a lawyer.
In California the mortician can give copies of the death certificate immediately. What I was attempting to do was to contact agencies on my brothers behalf...SSDI, etc. And, yes, some weeks later it is available thru the County.
The mortician, who I had had contact with a couple of times that week, and had to who I had just spoken to request copies was sending me copies. A short time later he called me back to say that part of what he had to do was clear it with my nephew (sister's son) prior to sending. Because I had just sent a waiver giving my nephew and my niece the authority to make decisions for my brother's arrangements
The mortician as a courtesy explained that my nephew had told him not to send me the copies of the death certificate. That when he spoke to my nephew, he had said he'd already ordered a copy for me...But, of course it never came.
California is a community property state, so if the niece inherited ownership, her husband also has legal ownership rights.
Not correct. Inherited property is excluded from community prooerty unless it is co mingled. Inherit cash and keep it in an individual acount, it's yours. Dump the cash into a joint account, now it's community property. In the case if real estate, that title goes into the beneficiaries name unless she elects to put his name on it.
California is a community property state, so if the niece inherited ownership, her husband also has legal ownership rights.
Not correct. Inherited property is excluded from community prooerty unless it is co mingled. Inherit cash and keep it in an individual acount, it's yours. Dump the cash into a joint account, now it's community property. In the case of real estate, that title goes into the beneficiaries name unless she elects to put his name on it.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,319,080 times
Reputation: 6471
Just responding to one part of your first post OP.
The assessed valuation by the county has absolutely nothing to do with the market value, especially since our Prop 13 limits how much an assessment can go up each year.
Dare I say it? Go to Zillow.com and see what they claim the property might be worth. Take the number with a grain of salt, but it's far more likely to be reasonably close than an assessed valuation.
Good Luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
