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This is a good place to say that OP could be accused of such or similar since she is living with her mother. Better to have every i dotted and every t crossed as much as humanly possible. Death and estates often bring out the worst in people, not saying that is what the OP will experience.
I have a cousin in his 60's that had been living with his mother in her house. Why? Because he had no place else to go.
Anyway several years ago the mother fell ill and was in the hospital. On her death bed my cousin got her to sign over the house to him. He made sure a doctor and nurse signed off as witnesses. When the mother passed away the four other siblings were furious about what he did. One of the siblings repeatedly called my mother to complain but there was nothing that could be done.
Needless to say the cousin in question is no longer invited to family gatherings.
Yes, that's why the issue needs to be addressed and taken care of sooner than latter, and that everyone understands the terms. They may not all agree with the terms but if they are apprised beforehand it takes the shock out of it.
This is a good place to say that OP could be accused of such or similar since she is living with her mother. Better to have every i dotted and every t crossed as much as humanly possible. Death and estates often bring out the worst in people, not saying that is what the OP will experience.
My mother fell ill on a Friday and passed away on Sunday. There was no will to be found. However, she told my brother and I she wanted to leave the money (200k) to our sisters. Both my brother and I are in decent financial shape. Sister? No so much.
Legally I assumed either my brother or I could have fought for a cut of the inheritance given there was no will but we didn't. And our sister is eternally grateful.
But... if my sister blows the money she's on her own. My sister is 66 and my mother had been lending her money throughout her adult life. She's got a good job and god only knows where her money goes.
^This is important.^ I have a friend whose shyster attorney dragged and dragged and dragged the estate of a sibling for 6 (SIX) years for a simple probate. Then the attorney dragged their feet for 6 months longer than another relative's probate period. (In my state probate is a mandatory 6 months.)
After 1 year (six months past the mandated date) the estate was still not wrapped up. An in-law "spoke to" <nice words the attorney and demanded that both probates get done immediately. Only then did it happen. The nerve of that attorney. Let it be a lesson. Look at attorney ratings, get personal recommendations, make sure that the attorney or law firm follows the mandated law in a simpler case. In a complex case, of course it might take longer, but not 6 years in a simple estate case.
Y'all, attorneys have "boiler plate" paragraphs for every little estate planning issue. Then they tell a word processor to fill in the blanks, paying the word processor a clerical salary while charging the client $300/hr. <That was my experience in 1978. Yes, you read that correctly. I can only imagine what attorneys in my former city of employment are charging now.
Ohh my goodness. Thanks for the warning. I will do my best to do in depth research first. I think in my state, things should be done in 8 months.
The attorney my mom used for her will only charged 450.00. Will wasn't complicated though. I do think I will do a codicil or amendment to add in about me staying in the home until house is sold. I'd feel better having that in the will
What kind of attorney am I looking for? Probate or estate or does it matter. I think in SC, it can take anywhere from 8 months to a year to hopefully get things done. What a nightmare to have an attorney drag their feet. Seems like they were taking advantage.
I would rather not pay by the hour but pay a percentage. It makes me too nervous if I have a lazy person that talks slow and eats up the money by being so slow. I'd want to slap them on the back and say hurry up all the time....time is money. Let's go. ha
Last edited by diddlydudette; 12-28-2022 at 02:16 PM..
^This is important.^ I have a friend whose shyster attorney dragged and dragged and dragged the estate of a sibling for 6 (SIX) years for a simple probate. Then the attorney dragged their feet for 6 months longer than another relative's probate period. (In my state probate is a mandatory 6 months.)
After 1 year (six months past the mandated date) the estate was still not wrapped up. An in-law "spoke to" <nice words the attorney and demanded that both probates get done immediately. Only then did it happen. The nerve of that attorney. Let it be a lesson. Look at attorney ratings, get personal recommendations, make sure that the attorney or law firm follows the mandated law in a simpler case. In a complex case, of course it might take longer, but not 6 years in a simple estate case.
Y'all, attorneys have "boiler plate" paragraphs for every little estate planning issue. Then they tell a word processor to fill in the blanks, paying the word processor a clerical salary while charging the client $300/hr. <That was my experience in 1978. Yes, you read that correctly. I can only imagine what attorneys in my former city of employment are charging now.
Ohh my goodness. Thanks for the warning. I will do my best to do in depth research first. I think in my state, things should be done in 8 months.
The attorney my mom used for her will only charged 500.00. Will wasn't complicated though. I do think I will do a codicil or amendment to add in about me staying in the home until house is sold. I'd feel better having that in the will
What kind of attorney am I looking for? Probate or estate or does it matter. I think in SC, it can take anywhere from 8 months to a year to hopefully get things done. What a nightmare to have an attorney drag their feet. Seems like they were taking advantage.
I would rather not pay by the hour but pay a percentage. It makes me too nervous if I have a lazy person that talks slow and eats up the money by being so slow. I'd want to slap them on the back and say hurry up all the time....time is money. Let's go. ha
My mom's attorney didn't charge her much more than that. I was the lucky person to file probate. In my experience here in Texas, either works fine and both do the same sort of work. However, my mom's estate was complicated by her owning some mineral rights and also inheriting some that weren't in her name yet. So three years later and it's still dragging on though it's mostly settled
One thing I would do is stipulate a time frame for selling the house and dividing up the proceeds between you and your siblings. Your mom will need to be of sound mind to be able to add the codicil/amendment. You can't add it though you can tell the attorney what she'd like to have it say.
I think altogether the lawyer ran us around $4k - $5K. I am not sure how it works in SC, but in NJ, the portion the lawyer gets for a house sale is a flat fee, not a billing rate.
Thanks. That's kinda of what I'm thinking it might cost. If I can just get the cost to stay around that, I'd be ok.
In my head I'm thinking I'd have so many questions and spend so much time on the phone that in the end I might get charged at least 10,000. I prefer just to get charged a percent so I don't give it a second thought to pick up the phone and ask a question or feel rushed when I do talk to them. 300-400.00 an hour scares me when I think of all the questions and help I'd need.
Mom is 86 1/2. She is for the most part healthy now...working in the yard each day and she is still driving and going out with her friends to eat, etc....but she is slowing down by taking more naps and resting more. I just want to get all my ducks in a row so I can get most of the stress off of me now. If I can find someone now I trust to be attoney to the will and can add an amendment/codicil and not charge an arm and a leg and is good at what they do, I'll be happy and that will be stress off of me.
My wife and I paid $1500 to update our will. However, it was farily straightforward. I die wife gets everthing. Wife dies I get everything. We both die: 50% goes to wife's sister and 50% to my two nieces.
Interesting. My mom paid 450.00 I think just for the will itself. I kind of remember the lawyer having a page in the will where she said we could add something on that page if we came up with anything later on. I wonder if I could write that in about living there until house sold and get mom to date and sign it. I wonder if that would make it legal. Maybe I can call their office and just ask that question without them charging me an hourly rate.
Interesting. My mom paid 450.00 I think just for the will itself. I kind of remember the lawyer having a page in the will where she said we could add something on that page if we came up with anything later on. I wonder if I could write that in about living there until house sold and get mom to date and sign it. I wonder if that would make it legal. Maybe I can call their office and just ask that question without them charging me an hourly rate.
The person whose will it is can modify it without rewriting the entire document. That's called a codicil. It is common to revise a will when minor changes in what will become an estate asset occurs (selling or buying an asset, opening/closing bank accounts, change of your state of residence, addresses, etc). A major change such as altering how you want your estate to be dispersed or disinheriting an heir may take a more formal re-write.
This does not mean anyone else can alter the terms of the will. You need to understand this. Call the attorney who prepared the will to be sure you understand your authority (or lack thereof).
IME, don't nickel and dime yourself to death over a consultation fee. The small percentage I paid my probate attorney to help me distribute my parents' estates (which took 18 months to two years) was more than worth avoiding the legal pitfalls I might have faced without them.
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