Hi,
My grandmother passed away and left her property to my mother and her brothers and sisters in California. She left my mother the house and family store(which is closed) and my uncles were given the apartments. Now in her will she stated that she wanted the apartments to be sold off first to pay off her outstanding debts to the government. As of recent my mother has been pressured to sell the house, which would leave her homeless, and was told that the apartments are not worth of any value to sell in this market by my uncles and aunts. My uncles were the ones who put my dead grandmother into so much debt while they were her custodians. The family store, it's a small mexican grocery store that sold hand made tortillas and masa, is connected to the house on the same lot. I am not sure if that matters. I am currently is Afghanistan and feeling helpless with this situation. Any advice or help will be greatly appriciated, thank you.

Respectfully,
SGT Gonzalez

Estate law differs greatly from state to state. Here's what I know from my mother's death in Wisconsin. Someone will become the executor of the estate, and all the filings will be done with the probate court. The executor (sometimes an attorney, family member, friend will file the will with the court, and have to follow its intent. There's a period of 6 months where someone has the right to file a claim with the estate for unpaid goods, services, loans, etc.. It has to be published 3 times in the official paper. Since I was clueless about the process and was forced into becoming the executor, finding out how the process in your mother's jurisdiction works should be your first step. My local officials were helpful and had detailed info for free that explained the process and requirements. The local Congressperson may be helpful in reducing the amount that the federal gov't takes. Try online first. Once you know how probate is supposed to work where your mom lived, you'll be able to make sure things go properly. This is a trying time and I hope all goes well.

Any question on law needs your general locale as laws vary by area.

You left out some other key pieces of info. Is the estate in probate? Who was/is the executor? How long ago did she pass? Has an appraisal been done of the properties?

If the value of the estate is not sufficient to cover the debts of the estate, then all those assets may need to be sold off to pay those debts. This has to be done BEFORE any assets can transferred to the heirs.

The will sounds like it may be complex and the executor may need an attorney to get it through probate.

P.S. Thanks for your service.

I wonder about the apartments being worthless, given how many homeowners have lost their homes in the recession, and are renting. Are they vacant?

Debts will have to be first as said, and your mother can't just try to claim her siblings are responsible for them. If she wants to stay in the house she inherited without it being sold for debts, she needs a lawyer.

I also thank you for your service.

You didn't say who is the executor of the estate or whether the will has been submitted to probate. But it appears that the uncles were to receive the value of the apartments remaining after the tax debt is satisfied. Are there any other debts and are the apartments subject to a mortgage?

What your uncles may be saying is that the apartments are not worth what is owed for taxes and the mortgage. If so, the remaining debt would have to be paid by selling the home and store. You need to find an attorney in California who can look at the situation and advise you and your mother.

Thank you all for your responses!
My god mother is the executor and doesn't have a clue on what to do. My grandmother passed in Aug 2012. I am looking into who my local congress person is and the debt my grandmother owed could easily be covered by the sale of two of the apartment complexes. It is in probate currently, which is what I was told. I am looking into an attorney in the area but if proving difficult from where I am at.

See if you can contact the probate court, they may be able to appoint an attorney.