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My mom passed away without a will in. How do I protect my rights?
Anonymous2 views2 answers
I have two siblings. My brother is beneficiary to her State of NC retirement and her life insurance policy. She owns two residencies, one fully paid. One has a balance of $70,000.00. She also owns 2 vehicles, 2 trailers (the kind you pull behind a truck) a motorcycle (with a loan) a credit card, My brother wants to pay all the debt, including his own debt, but not the house. He will allow it to go into foreclosure. He has no intention of giving my sister nor myself anything from the retirement or the life insurance. Can I ask him to sell everything? Also, can I ask him to buy me out of the real estate property and personal property?
This scenario has many moving parts, which will require a consultation with a fiduciary litigation attorney to fully sort out. If your brother is the sole named beneficiary to the non-probate assets, he is under no obligation to share the distributions therein. But is there anyone appointed administrator of the estate yet? This would be one of the first steps when one has died intestate. As to the houses, all three of you (and any other surviving siblings) could potentially be eligible to take in equal shares, through in the case of the $70,000 debt, you would take the property subject to the mortgage/deed of trust.
There are options on the siblings buying out the others' interests, but I would not try to wade into that on this site. Write down your most desirable outcomes and your goals, and then sit down with an attorney who handles probate, estates, and fiduciary litigation, and s/he will be able to better advise you about how to approach the brother about his intentions. I would do this sooner rather than later. Use 's "Find a Lawyer" tool to locate some prospects. Also, you might note Attorney Cheryl David, who regularly comments on in the area of estate planning. You could look her up when you research attorneys. She is quite an expert in this area. Blessings to you and your family in the wake of your mother's passing.
While beneficiary driven assets like life insurance or retirement money may have named a child and your brother may rightfully receive the retirement without splitting it, if he was the named beneficiary, the homes are a different story. The homes likely belong to you all together. Moreover, while some money must be allocated to pay off the debt, he may not pay off his personal debt with assets that are meant for you and your sibling. This is a mess and you should consider hiring a lawyer.
