Ask Me Help Desk - Who gets the estate when the parent dies?

Recently my boyfriends mother passed away. She owned 2/3 of 70 acres in Texas. Her sister (my boyfriends aunt) owns the other third and wants what that third is worth. My boyfriend is only 19 and his name is not on the deed so now that his mother is gone, can he change the deed to be in his name? Also, can he just sell his aunts third and give her the money?

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Originally Posted by ashleyg18

Recently my boyfriends mother passed away. She owned 2/3 of 70 acres in Texas. Her sister (my boyfriends aunt) owns the other third and wants what that third is worth. My boyfriend is only 19 and his name is not on the deed so now that his mother is gone, can he change the deed to be in his name? Also, can he just sell his aunts third and give her the money?

Nobody can do anything until the estate is probated, an executor/executrix appointed, bills paid.

It would appear that your boyfriend has no legal standing to do anything at this point. When the estate settles he can certainly buy out his aunt's share and hold the property in his individual name.

Was there a will? How was title held? Is there any mortgage on the property? What does your boyfriend want to do with the property?

Yes there was a will. His mother put her friend as executor and head of the estate. This "friend" is also a probate lawyer so I believe she just assumed the position of being his lawyer even though he didn't hire her. My boyfriend has never seen the will and the "friend" who is basically in charge of all of his mothers belongings has not told him anything or kept him in the loop. He wants to keep as much of the land as possible. He will have to sell some to pay for property taxs and medical bills, etc. but the "friend" is telling him he has to sell all of it.. she doesn't have this right, correct?

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Originally Posted by ashleyg18

yes there was a will. his mother put her friend as executor and head of the estate. this "friend" is also a probate lawyer so i believe she just assumed the position of being his lawyer even though he didn't hire her. my boyfriend has never seen the will and the "friend" who is basically in charge of all of his mothers belongings has not told him anything or kept him in the loop. he wants to keep as much of the land as possible. he will have to sell some to pay for property taxs and medical bills, etc. but the "friend" is telling him he has to sell all of it..she doesn't have this right, correct?

Without seeing the Will there is no way to know. Your boyfriend is ENTITLED to a copy of the Will and the estate cannot be closed/settled until he sees a copy.

I'm a little confused. The mother named a friend as Executor. There is no "head of the estate." The friend is an Attorney so "she" just assumed the position of being "his" lawyer even though "he" didn't hire her. If you are saying the friend is also representing your boyfriend, she cannot represent him as his Attorney. She would need to be designated by him to represent him. She CAN manage all matters arising out of the estate, however - she just can't represent your boyfriend. It's a serious conflict of interest.

How long ago did his mother die?

The first thing your boyfriend needs to do is get a copy of the will. The second thing is to check with the local probate court to see if its been probated.

Judy is right, the executor of the estate (ther eis no head of the estate) cannot represent your boyfriend. That's a conflict.

As to whether the executor is right about needing to sell all of the property, its possible. It depends on the nature of the property and the zoning laws covering it.

I think your boyfrined needs to hire his own attorney to deal with all of this.

His mom died in August. His mothers friend hasn't exactly been the nicest person through all of this but, he is too scared to say anything to her because she is in charge of it all. She just scheduled an estate sell for all of his moms things in their house and didn't even notify him about it. Can't he use the life insurance money from his mom to pay for medical bills and what-not and not have to sell all of his land?
And I completely agree on him needing to get his own lawyer. I believe he needs a second opinion on all of this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleyg18

his mom died in august. his mothers friend hasn't exactly been the nicest person through all of this but, he is too scared to say anything to her because she is in charge of it all. she just scheduled an estate sell for all of his moms things in their house and didnt even notify him about it. can't he use the life insurance money from his mom to pay for medical bills and what-not and not have to sell all of his land?
and i completely agree on him needing to get his own lawyer. i believe he needs a second opinion on all of this.

Do you mean he is going to use the proceeds of a life insurance policy - he was the beneficiary - to pay his Mom's medical bills? That's totally out of line, unnecessary. A life insurance policy passes OUTSIDE the estate and cannot be used to pay the bills of the Estate. That money belongs to your boyfriend, everything else aside, nothing to do with the estate.

Something is going on here and he NEEDS an Attorney - NOW.

Judy is right. If he was a beneficiary of his mom's life insuance, he gets that outside the estate and he can do with it as he pleases.

He should not be paying ANY of his mom's bills. That is the responsibility of the executor.

The executor can schedule any actions of the estate without his approval, but it would be polite to do so. At least to check if he wanted any of it.

But she shouldn't be doing anything until the will is probated and she is formally acknowledged as the executor.

He needs his own attorney now, before she empties the estate.