Hi there,

I am a new member ,and don`t actually now how does the website work.Ineed some info regarding my father in-law that passed away.He left everything to my mother -in -law,but now she wants to know how to go above to open an estate account.According to the pension fund,she needs to get a letter from the court that states that she got everything in the will,and they want her to open an estate acc in my late father in- law`s name,so that they can pay the pension money in there.But won`t the account be freezed seeing that the person are dead? She would like to do some renovations in and around the house.She would like to know can she really get this money,without any hassles from the bank.

Thanks
Lizel

I assume that you Mother-in-Law is the executor of the estate - is that correct? If so, then once the estate account is set up she will be the trustee of that account, and can use the proceeds as she sees fit. As executor she has a responsibility to make sure that any outstanding debt of her husband's are settled from his assets. Once the estate is settled (finished the probate process) she will be able to close out the estate account and transfer all its remaining assets to the beneficiaries (namely herself).

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Originally Posted by ebaines

I assume that you Mother-in-Law is the executor of the estate - is that correct? If so, then once the estate account is set up she will be the trustee of that account, and can use the proceeds as she sees fit. As executor she has a responsibility to make sure that any outstanding debt of her husband's are settled from his assets. Once the estate is settled (finished the probate process) she will be able to close out the estate account and transfer all its remaining assets to the beneficiaries (namely herself).

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Yes she is the executor of the estate,so that means she needs to pay all the outstanding debt,and with the balance of the money she can transfer into her own account,but she needs to keep an account of all her expenses that she paid from the money e.g.. she wants to put tiles in the house,put new ceiling boards in and want ot upgrade her yard outside.
How long does it usaualy take for the court to give her a letter to say that she inherrit everything,does she gets the letter straight away,or is will it be posted,as she needs all these documentation asap for the pension fund

Thanks for your quick response
Lizel

Assuming that there is no need to file an estate tax return with the IRS or her state - I would think that this should be resolved in a few months. It takes a few months so that all creditors have an opportunity to put in claims against the estate.

How is the property titled? Often married couples have their homes titled as "joint tenant with right of survivorship," in which case it avoids probate and all that's needed to title the house in her name is the death certificate. But if the property is in the husbands name only then it must go through probate, so she'll have to wait for the judge to do his thing.