Probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate. About the only thing you can do is have an attorney walk into his hospital room and create a will and have him sign it, if he will. That would alleviate a lot of headache.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate. About the only thing you can do is have an attorney walk into his hospital room and create a will and have him sign it, if he will. That would alleviate a lot of headache.

Just to avoid any confusion for the OP - having a will does NOT avoid probate. The estates of those who die with a will still need to be probated. Of course they are easier to do in many respects, if there are no challenges to the will itself, but the court is still involved.

the ultimate middle finger
old sick people that have stuff , and make no attempt at getting their affairs in order.

I have half a dozen stories about this subject,
none of them end well

I read the Illinois link. Same here (old English common law?). Half goes to spouse, half split between children. Which sounds like the ex-spouse gets zero.

quote:

Probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate.

It must depend on? As executor When my mother died everyone I spoke with said probate was the way to go in TN.
Attorney fees for Probate & sale of my mothers home totaled cost $1200. It was all final in 6 months & all was good.

Unless you seriously think there's a chance of seeing part of the $200K from the condo (not sure what would have to be liquidated to settle what debs, not a lawyer), I like BBMW's advice.

Just walk away.

Ring ring, Mr. Edmund, I'm the lawyer for probate of the estate of.... NOT INTERESTED <click>. Repeat as necessary.

I find it difficult to believe a court would hold you responsible for a pile of $h1t that wasn't yours. Although stranger things have happened I'm sure.

I don't give two damns about the Corvette (I don't want it) or the townhouse (we won't be living there). I just don't want to be put in the situation where I have to take time off work, drive everyone up there, have to rent a 30' dumpster and empty that damn thing. I just took 2 weeks off for military service leave and my job was pissed enough at it already!

But this is also the same guy who told us he would give us $5,000 towards our wedding. When my wife found a venue and called him about the $5,000, he started hemming and hawing. Then he tells her that he can only give her $2,000. Wife went over there to pick up the check, I told her to make sure it clears before spending it, and was shocked to see him with new furniture, hardwood flooring and a new Apple TV (or some sort of new Apple something)...

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I just don't want to be put in the situation where I have to take time off work, drive everyone up there, have to rent a 30' dumpster and empty that damn thing. I just took 2 weeks off for military service leave and my job was pissed enough at it already!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Then, who is putting you in the situation? You seem conflicted for some reason. Is the issue your wife? I do not understand why you have assumed responsibility for this mess.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I just don't want to be put in the situation where I have to take time off work, drive everyone up there, have to rent a 30' dumpster and empty that damn thing. I just took 2 weeks off for military service leave and my job was pissed enough at it already!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Then, who is putting you in the situation? You seem conflicted for some reason. Is the issue your wife? I do not understand why you have assumed responsibility for this mess.

I don't think he's ASSUMING responsibility. I think he's afraid of responsibility being FORCED upon him. I don't see how it would, but as I already said, this is a common-sensical conclusion, not a legal one.

ETA: Edmond, forgive me if I'm putting words in your mouth. I'm only repeating back what I think I hear you saying.

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:

quote:

Probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate.

It must depend on? As executor When my mother died everyone I spoke with said probate was the way to go in TN.
Attorney fees for Probate & sale of my mothers home totaled cost $1200. It was all final in 6 months & all was good.

A simple estate in Texas would cost about that.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I just don't want to be put in the situation where I have to take time off work, drive everyone up there, have to rent a 30' dumpster and empty that damn thing. I just took 2 weeks off for military service leave and my job was pissed enough at it already!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Then, who is putting you in the situation? You seem conflicted for some reason. Is the issue your wife? I do not understand why you have assumed responsibility for this mess.

I don't think he's ASSUMING responsibility. I think he's afraid of responsibility being FORCED upon him.

Simply don't get involved - just because other people fuck up their lives doesn't mean you have to get involved.

You are assuming responsibility you don't have to take.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:
I don't think he's ASSUMING responsibility. I think he's afraid of responsibility being FORCED upon him. I don't see how it would, but as I already said, this is a common-sensical conclusion, not a legal one.

ETA: Edmond, forgive me if I'm putting words in your mouth. I'm only repeating back what I think I hear you saying.

IntrepidTraveler,

You hit the nail on the head.

Thank you.

So how is it going to be forced upon you?

Your wife is the only one I can think of.

I would say "Sure, I'll do all that shit at the cost of all the guns and the first $20K of the inheritance as payment for services rendered."

My FIL has laughed about having no health insurance and no money for a burial - "Why should I care, I'll be dead!"

I've already told my wife how that gets solved it up to her and her 2 brothers for solve.

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:

quote:

Probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate.

It must depend on? As executor When my mother died everyone I spoke with said probate was the way to go in TN.
Attorney fees for Probate & sale of my mothers home totaled cost $1200. It was all final in 6 months & all was good.

I should have said "probate will be very expensive and take a long time and you should have an attorney for probate If There Is No Will.

Here in Florida it is not necessary to go to probate if you have a will.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
So how is it going to be forced upon you?

Your wife is the only one I can think of.

I would say "Sure, I'll do all that shit at the cost of all the guns and the first $20K of the inheritance as payment for services rendered."

My FIL has laughed about having no health insurance and no money for a burial - "Why should I care, I'll be dead!"

I've already told my wife how that gets solved it up to her and her 2 brothers for solve.

Because probably 1/2 of it is going to fall on her and I'm not going to let her deal with it by herself.

Personally I won't be sad when he dies.

He yearned for a relationship with a son yet didn't have a relationship with his son.

He told me to call him dad but I call him by his name. Sorry, dude, you had a son. You never had anything to do with him and couldn't even go see him in his dying days or attend the funeral (they probably wouldn't have wanted him there anyway).

I don't understand how a "man" can abandon his flesh and blood like that. If he did that to his own, you think he would give 1/2 a shit about me?

Just my unqualifed opinion but a revocable trust and right of survivorship is the way to go. My sister and I were able to avoid probate because my parents put all of their holdings and properties in a trust plus rights of survivorship. I have done the same with my estate.

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
Just my unqualifed opinion but a revocable trust and right of survivorship is the way to go. My sister and I were able to avoid probate because my parents put all of their holdings and properties in a trust plus rights of survivorship. I have done the same with my estate.

My first guess is that you are probably right, but I’d suggest finding a good estate planning attorney in your jurisdiction and letting them guide you. YMMV...

quote:

Here in Florida it is not necessary to go to probate if you have a will.

In TN the advantage of probate is after 6 months from filing date the Probate Judge can finalize the Estate & creditors must go back to court & reopen the probate. After 1 year creditors can no longer file against the estate. I had medical bills appear out of the woodwork after 6 months. They were not valid bills & probate saved the hassle of fighting with a hospital over duplicate billings (the hospital had been sold to a new hospital chain).

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida it is not necessary to go to probate if you have a will.

Jimmy, can you please provide support for this statement? I'm looking at this website, and it appears to me that probate is still required even with a will. I know for sure it is required in my state, but I am not licensed in Florida. I want to make sure the OP has accurate information.

https://www.floridabar.org/pub...onsumer/pamphlet026/

quote:

Because probably 1/2 of it is going to fall on her and I'm not going to let her deal with it by herself.

What people are trying to suggest to you is you, she, everybody in your circle can sidestep all that BS. It's not her responsibility and she doesn't have to do a dingdong thing. If she was named executor maybe, but without a will that obviously isn't the case.