My husband died. His brother’s name on deed for life estate. Do I have the same rights? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: A life estate grants the life tenant the right to live in the property for his lifetime. The other owner of the property is called the remainderman because he gets the remainder. Once the life tenant dies, the remainderman becomes a full owner of the property. If a remainderman owns the property in his own
Many online-only banks offer higher interest rates for online savings accounts but I found that most of these banks do not allow accounts to be owned by a trust. If I list my trust as beneficiary, is it just as good as having the trust own the account? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: Naming the trust as a beneficiary is a way to fund the trust at your death, thus avoiding probate. There is one drawback. As
I just would like to get my land back now. No improvements, it’s basically abandoned. What can I do to get title into my name? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: The debt owed to your mother is now owned by your mother’s estate. You will need to consult with a Florida litigation attorney. (I am assuming it was Florida land.) You may have to open a probate for your mother to file the lawsuit. Hopefully your mother
My parents set up an irrevocable trust with my brother and I as Trustees. We have to open a trust bank account and therefore need to apply for and EIN to open the account. Does the application for EIN allow for designation of 2 trustee and both social security numbers? We only need the EIN and account to distribute a small life insurance policy which will be made the trust. The insurance check will be deposited
My father passed away recently. Most of his estate is under a trust that we know about. However, there is a term life policy he owned that has as its beneficiary a trust in my father’s name, under indenture, dated 1969. My mother and their current estate lawyer have no clue about this trust or even where to find the original policy contract. Is there any way to locate a copy of this trust somewhere online
My dad never did a will, and never wanted to talk about it when brought up, but he wanted his money to go to his children. My brother’s name is on his accounts, so can any of that money be gifted to us, before the nursing home takes it all, and he’s flat broke within a few months, then has to file for Medicare? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: You would be applying for Medicaid, not Medicare.
Both adult children are 50/50 beneficiaries of divorced parent’s houses. Both adult children are living in either the mom’s or dad’s house. The mom where my sis lives just died. Sis wants to stay there. The houses are the same in value. Can we trade our quick claims to the houses so she stays at mom’s old house and in the future I get my dad’s house free and clear? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: As you
My deed needs to be updated to reflect my last name due to marriage in my revocable trust. ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: Your name change does not affect the ownership rights. At the time of the sale or transfer out of your revocable trust, the new deed with state your new name and your former name. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice,
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mom passed away. She left me a condominium. I’m receiving SSDI. Do I have to pay real estate tax on the property I inherited? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: You can check with the town assessor’s office to see if you qualify for an exemption. Generally, those are granted to people who are living in the property as a home. The exemptions vary from town to town. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on
My Step-Dad passed away, and he was still living with my Mom . They lived together for 40+ years. About their 35th year, the did a fast marriage thru a Magistrate judge, and afterwards, they divorced, mom and Dad both told me it was because of how much the Ins. Premium went up in cost, it’s tripled. They were given advice to divorce, and go back to how they were doing things, and they did an
Attorneys licensed to practice in Florida | Massachusetts | New Hampshire
Business Law | Estate Planning | Probate & Trust | Real Estate | Estate Tax
