Penryn, CA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

When a check is made out to an estate, you need an estate bank account to deposit that check. On the other hand, you can see if the payor on the check will reissue a new one. If that fails, you can see if the Small Estate Affidavit will work to allow you to negotiate the check.

In California, the trust must be revocable in order to be amended, and then normally only by the person that established the trust, which would be your mother. The fact that she received assistance from you in adopting it does not alter the fact that it was a trust she created for her property; i.e., its HER trust. Sometimes a power of attorney may grant an agent or attorney-in-fact limited authority to amend a trust in which the principal is a Settlor or Grantor, but I would need to research whether that power would go so far as to altering the successor trustees. At her advanced age there may exist questions of her capacity to effectively execute trust amendments or new powers of attorney. You can make court filings at airports?

Generally speaking, her estate would be responsible for her medical bills after her death. You should retain counsel to advise you. If your mother received state assistance in the form of medicaid the state may require her estate to pay it back prior to closing the estate.