Additional Information: If the deceased had a pour over will filed in probate and any of this assets that wasn’t put into the trust, would pour over from his estate into the trust? If the estate has a independent representative administering the estate, if the administer doesn’t follow the pour over will and by pass the trust without pour over the estate to the trust. Is that illegal? A trust is business; would it have a

Additional Information: The spouse would like to leave all assets, tangible items, and insurance payouts to the children only. ATTORNEY ANSWER: There is no requirement that a spouse leave assets to the other spouse in a revocable trust or a will. However, most states have statutes which allow the disinherited spouse to make an election against the decedent’s estate to claim a spousal share. 

Additional Information: I am in charge of an estate and I put the will in probate on 2/2010 and the estate was left 45% of a company and the other 55%.  The man who is running the company was left the 55% and we asked him to buy us out and he said no and is not willing to negotiate a purchase price.   How do I go forward with this situation ? Also he has

Additional Information: My Mom, who is 87 yrs. old and has dementia/early Alzheimer’s, is living with me.  She owns a home, which my daughter and her family are living in currently.  What can I do to prevent the seizure by Medicaid of her home when she has to enter a nursing home, if anything? What are my options with this? ATTORNEY ANSWER: Medicaid will not seize a home if your mother enters a nursing and is

Additional Information: My Father died intestate & my surviving 93 year old mother refuses to discuss a will so she will also die intestate. I would like to add my sister’s name to the deed on my Mother’s house so the house will be owned as Joint Tenants with rights of survivorship. This way when my Mother dies, we can avoid probate. Right now the deed has both my deceased Father & living Mother as owners.

Additional Information: My dad broke his hip at his house, there are just too many stairs for him to safely navigate.  We sold my dad’s house; used the money as a downpayment on our new ranch style house for myself, my wife and my dad. We went though an Massachusetts eldercare lawyer who created the deed giving my dad a life estate and my wife and myself ownership after my father’s death. My name is the

Additional Information: My friend had a will and then wanted changes.  She had the lawyer draft the changes but she never signed the changes.  Does the lawyer refer to the original will or can the changes be added without her signature? ATTORNEY ANSWER: Your friend’s Last Will and Testament will be the controlling document. The court will not honor an unsigned Codicil. Margaret L. Cross-Beliveau, Esq., LL.M. Legal Disclaimer:

Additional Information: I am in the position where I have to decide whether to put my father in a Massachusetts nursing home or not. I have found a facility in Greater Boston area that seems appropriate, it costs $4,500 per month. My brother has said he would like to keep him out of a nursing home.  Could my father pay my brother the $4,500 per month instead of paying it into a nursing home? What are

Additional Information: My grandmother and I live in Danvers, MA.  We are co-owners of a mutual fund account. She purchased it around March of 2005 and thought she had named me as co-owner, but truly named me as beneficiary. We caught the mistake and had my name added as joint owner about 2.5 years ago. She is currently in assisted living but may require nursing care in the future. She tells me to take the money

Additional Information: Dad died without a will. He and our mother are both on the deed to the house, he continued to live in and were divorced a few years ago. What will happen to the house, will it go to her automatically? And would we have to go into probate? (not really sure what that means) ATTORNEY ANSWER: You should first review the divorce decree. If the decree awards the property to your father, he