Hello,

My cousin just passed away- he was a resident of Boston, Mass and I live in Atlanta, GA. I am pretty sure he had some money tucked away, and that he left some of it to me as I was one of his closest relitives. Right now my mom has the most control. She said that she lost power of attorney when he passed away. My cousin had a will. How will it be accessed? Do I need to be present when it is read?
If the will says that I am left a certain amount of money, do I automatically get that money once the will is read?
Who is the executor of a will? The lawyer or is someone else appointed?
How do I make sure that no one takes what is legally mine if I'm all the way here in Atlanta and everything is going on in Boston? Is there any way this money can be "stolen" from me or put somewhere I can't touch it?
Thanks,
Diet Pepsi Girl

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Diet Pepsi Girl

Hello,

My cousin just passed away- he was a resident of Boston, Mass and I live in Atlanta, GA. I am pretty sure he had some money tucked away, and that he left some of it to me as I was one of his closest relitives. Right now my mom has the most control. She said that she lost power of attorney when he passed away. My cousin had a will. How will it be accessed? Do I need to be present when it is read?
If the will says that I am left a certain amount of money, do I automatically get that money once the will is read?
Who is the executor of a will? The lawyer or is someone else appointed?
How do I make sure that no one takes what is legally mine if I'm all the way here in Atlanta and everything is going on in Boston? Is there any way this money can be "stolen" from me or put somewhere I can't touch it?
Thanks,
Diet Pepsi Girl

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Yes, the Power of Attorney died with your cousin.

The Will be presented for probate by the Executor and you will be notified and probably, depending on the contents, asked to sign a release or similar document. There is no formal reading of the Will - you'll get a copy when you get the release.

No, you don't automatically get the money. It depends on how the Will the written, if assets have to be sold to pay bequests, what the tax picture is. People often leave dollar amounts to any number of people but the estate is not sufficient to pay all of the bequests.

Until the Will is probated and you are notified you don't know what is legally yours. Likewise, the Executor has to account to the Court for the distribution of the assets and payment of the bequests so it's almost impossible for someone to "take" your money.

Wasn't this discussed in Boston when you were there for the funeral? One usually follows the other.