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Originally posted by Sig209:

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Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:

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Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Your first stop should be with an estate planner or an attorney who specializes in estate and probate law. They can give you good advice on the estate and probate laws in your state.

He was very close to us, although living halfway across the country. Always made it clear that we (cousins) were the only family he had left. We took responsibility because someone had to get it done and we knew he would want things taken care of properly (all the bills paid, etc). Probably a corny phrase these days, but it used to be called 'family honor'.

^^^THIS^^^
You need a last will & testament, durable medical power of attorney, living will, maybe other documents properly prepared to sail through the probate process and allow your chosen representative(s) to take care of the necessary without delays or confusion.

I lost a cousin 3 years ago. Old single guy, no children, owned a home (mortgaged), had a car (financed), had investment accounts, bank accounts, pension plans. Overall good shape financially. But NO WILL! Nearly a year later, we were $20K out of pocket paying his bills while spending $350 per hour for a lawyer trying to get the court to allow us to do the right thing and take care of his estate.

The first joyful interval was dealing with a hospital demanding that a dead body be removed from their morgue. No will, no final instructions, no legal standing or authority to do anything. Had to punt on that one, paid a mortuary to handle the job (cremation), sent the remains to his golfing buddies, cousin now resides on his favorite gold course.

Next fun event was securing his home. I had the keys (from his effects at the hospital), but not the alarm code. Got to explain to the nice uniformed officers why a guy from 2000 miles away was entering a home owned by someone with a different last name. Maybe my retirement badge and ID kept me from needing a bail bondsman.

Can't sell the house until the court authorizes us to act as executors. Can't drive the car because his insurance won't cover us. Can't access his bank accounts to pay his bills. Can't get the cell phone service, alarm service, cable TV, or any other accounts shut down because we aren't legally appointed.

$20,000 later, got court authorization, house sold in 3 days, car sold immediately, everything paid off. About $80K remaining which was split equally between 4 first cousins.

About 2 years later we were still dealing with little stuff that keeps popping up (unpaid bill here or there).

A properly executed will would have made everything happen within a couple of months and saved a lot of misery.

curious why you were even involved. like you said he had no immediate family. he obviously didn't care -- why should you?

so you had to do a little leg-work to get your cut of the $80k.

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