[frauali]

My mother recently died. She had a Will done years ago, wanted to amend it to remove my sister, but then could never locate it to do so. So please tell me what happens now? My siblings said I should be appointed executor (even though I am the youngest). So where do I begin:
Do I take the death certificate to the courthouse first? And what does that do exactly since she doesn't have a Will? (we tried to contact lawyers she dealt with in the past but have had no luck locating a copy, and we've looked through the entire house)
Who notifies Social Security?
What are the steps after the courthouse is notified? Do I take the death certificate to her banks? I live in her house and need to pay bills, what happens to her checking account where she paid the bills from, is it true 'they' freeze half? Do I open an estate account with her other half so I can pay her bills?

Also, I am beneficiary on a money market account.. how do I go about taking care of that? I do have the paper she gave me which states I am beneficiary. Is that amount of money included with the estate where I cannot touch it? Or is it separate? Can I do that on my own with my proof of beneficiary and her death certificate?

As you can see I do need some guidance here and any assistance is great appreciated.

[ScottGem]

Our sympathies for your loss.

The first step is to get an executor assigned. To do this you go to your local probate court and file for probate of the estate. Once you are assigned as executor, you can start contacting SS, banks, etc. You can go to a bank and establish an estate account and move all her cash assets into it. You will need several official copies of her death certificate.

Any accounts or insurance policies that list a beneficiary or are held with right of survivorship are not part of the estate. The beneficiary can get those funds by presenting a death certificate to the holder of the funds.

[JudyKayTee]

I will add that when you open the estate for probate the Court will search for any/all Wills.

[ebaines]

One note - if in fact you can not locate a willl, then the estate will be divided among heirs according to the laws of your state for someone dying intestate. In most states, asuming that there is no surviving spouse, the estate will be divided evenly among her children. If any of your mother's children are deceased, their portion will be split among their heirs. Bottom line is the sibling that your mother wanted to remove from her inheritance will actually get her "share."

Oh, and as for the acount that named you as a beneficiary (I assume it was titled either as "payable of death" or "joint tenants with right of survivorship") - this passes to you directly, outside of probate. It is NOT counted as part of the estate to be divided up. Just contact the bank, provide proof of death, and the account will be transferred to you directly.