My father died, had perfect credit his entire life and stopped being able to pay his bills and work once he got sick, leaving a huge debt after he died. It appears as though everything willed to all heirs, according to the estate attorney, must be liquidated to pay off his debt. His debt is way more than what was willed and that includes the house. I saw a term online called "Detrimental to the estate" and asked the lawyer about it and he doesn't know anything about it! We are in KY.

My Mom was willed all the art and I'm told it has to be sold off to pay the debt. I look around here at all the heirlooms and personal belongings of my father and find it unfathomable that everything that was assigned to various family members must now go to a billion dollar corporation that in no way NEEDS the small chump change they'll gain from selling our precious pieces of family history! :mad::(:confused:

Also, not to ask too many questions but do you know anything about my fee as administrator of the estate? I'm supposed to get 5% of total sales (everything that was willed to us, furnishings, heirlooms, house, cars, art) and another 5% for something, a fee or something. Do I get 5% and 5%? I don't really understand but that's what I've been told in very unclear terms. We live in the state of KY.

The ex-wife was allowed to come in and take anything she wanted for the children (they're divorced) because they were called "gifts" and yet my mother who was married to my dad for over thirty years doesn't get to keep the art she was willed? Why aren't those gifts too? How come the ex-wife of five years gets to take furniture and other valuable items listed on the inventory list I was told to draw up and my Mom doesn't get to keep the art that was willed to her?

And how come the IRA can't be touched? The one brother who was asked (but not told to) in the will to share with the rest of the family and who promised to, has decided to cling onto every last dime and not share a penny. If I file a motion against him regarding the IRA, can he be forced to dispurse or share or put some of the money towards the debt that well outweighs the assets? One bank alone is in line for half a million dollars.

This is a nightmare. I can't believe this is happening. Do I have a pretty clear picture of what's to happen? Can I file bankruptcy as the admin of estate in order to avoid losing all inheritences to the family? (Not asking about the house itself, that will be sold. No one would be able to afford the mortgage on it anyway),Or are we completely without any recourse whatsoever? I feel like we're being robbed and raped.

First, before an estate can be distributed, all liabilities of the estate need to be paid off. If there isn't enough cash in the estate then non cash assets need to be sold off. On the other hand there may be items that have little or no intrinsic value that may not have to be sold.

Second, IRAs, Life insurance, assets held as Joint Tenants with right of survivorship are NOT part of the estate. So they pass to the listed beneficiary outside the estate. If Dad wanted the IRA shared, he should have set multiple beneficiaries. So you have no recourse against the brother.

Third, No you can't file bankruptcy on an estate. Once the assets are paid out, the estate is closed and remaining creditors are out of luck.

As executor, I believe you can take your fees off the top. It sounds like the fees are cumulative.

You say the ex-wife was "allowed" to take things. Who allowed this? You as executor can control distribution of assets.

Scott, yes it helped though it doesn't help. The lawyer came the day the ex-wife came to pick up things from the house. The original list we asked her to draw up was tiny and she brought four people with her, making it impossible to monitor everyone, plus the two children and they took furniture which wasn't on the list. The lawyer said anything that was exclusively for the children must be given over. She also took the photo albums not allowing us the courtesy of getting a chance to look through them to pick out what we wanted.

So since the debt far outweighs the assets, everything will be sold off, nothing will go to the heirs and the credit card companies will collect everything? What is the point in having a will? The lesson here is to not die in debt? Is there a possibility of negotiating with the creditors? Should my lawyer be doing this? I thank you for getting back so quickly.

First, what lawyer came? The ex's lawyer? Did he have any legal paperwork giving the ex the right to take anything? If you knew she took things not on the list, why did you not sue her? Why was she allowed to just grab?

Sorry, sounds like someone dropped the ball big time here.

As to why a person has a will, it's to direct the distribution of their assets. Most people don't expect to die deep in debt. Of course a good estate planner can deal with this.

The lawyer is actually my Dad's. He was his divorce attorney to this ex we're referring to, helped him with a lawsuit and became his estate lawyer after he died. The ex had been harassing us and the family, launching pretty vicious attacks on us even before he was buried and even the day he was buried. She's likely mentally ill. We just let her take what she took in order to not piss her off anymore. I guess she was angry that we broke our friendship with her months before my dad died because she was talking about how he was worth more to her dead than alive. Turns out she was talking about social security payments. She bragged that she had my dad's attorney in her pocket and I confronted him about that. He said that he was rather unkind to her during the divorce process and now that that's over, he's congenial or civil and he thinks that must be why she gets this impression.

Are you telling me that there is no real specific law that says the children of the deceased must get all their "gifts?" They are minor children. He said specifically that whatever belonged exclusively to the children, they should get. We questioned the bedroom furniture because we used those rooms for the grandchildren when they came to visit. We asked her to submit a list of what she took and she took a month to get back to say that she'll get around to it but that she's got cancer and she's going to be going through chemo. Nobody believes her, She's a pretty vicious, ruthless person. It wouldn't have dawned on me to sue her for taking her own kids' bedroom furniture, even if it wasn't on the list because the lawyer kept saying that they're gifts from my dad to his kids. It seems this is the only thing on the will that applies to the heirs. Everyone else goes without. I assumed this was legit.

When someone dies the only things that heirs are entitled to is what is specified in the will! If specific items (i.e. my daughter gets the china breakfront) are listed then such items can be distributed if the estate does not owe more than its assets. Absent such specific bequests, then its up to the executor to determine how to distribute the estate.

The first thing an executor must do, BEFORE anything is distributed, is to make a comprehensive inventory and appraisal of the estate. This is so the executor can determine how to equitably distribute the estate.

You keep referring to "gifts". Who defined these gifts and on what basis?

When the ex wife was divorced, she should have removed any belongings from the house. If your dad had visitation rights for the children and maintained bedrooms for them to stay over, the bedroom furniture was his, not theirs. If they had personal belongings (clothes, toys, etc.) in the house, those could have been given to them, but it would have to be documented.

You can't "assume" in legal matters. You have now opened yourself up to be sued by the other heirs for violating your fiduciary responsibility as executor.

The lawyer said the same thing you're saying. The children were entitled to their things as they had visitation here. Perhaps the furniture shouldn't have gone but it was bought for them and they needed it. No heir would sue us or begrudge the children their furniture. I appreciate your help, especially how timely your responses were.

I figured the other heirs would not take advantage of the breach in fiduciary responsibility, but you need to understand that, as executor, you have responsibility and laws to file

There still should have been a strict inventory and accounting before anything was distributed. I also question the stated "need" for the furniture. I'm assuming, when the ex left, she set up new housing for her and the kids. What about the furniture she had?

In any event, its really a moot point now. If you don't have an inventory by this time, you need to make one. You can then work on valuing the estate to determine what the value is and then make settlements with the creditors.

Thank you.

I believe that under Kentucky law, you are allowed to set aside up to $15, 000 of personal possessions prior to paying the creditors. Please let me know if I am wrong?