Sundown, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

The attorney for the estate should tell you what he expects you to do. In Missouri, the personal representative receives a commission based on the value of the property that is actually part of the probate estate. This would only include real property if it was sold. The probate estate normally (in Missouri) does not include any property that the decedent owned jointly with another person (except tenancy in common) and will not include property in trust or life insurance proceeds payable to a named beneficiary (other than the personal representative or the estate). The commission scale is as follows: 5% on the first $5,000 4% on the next $20,000 3% on the next $75,000 2.75% on the next $600,000 2% on everything over $1,000,000.

If your mother does not know about the debt, then she could not have consented to the debt; therefore, your mother has no personal obligation for the debt upon your father's death. However, upon your father's death, his estate, consisting of his separate property (and his community property, if he resides in a community proper state), is liable for any of your father's just debts. Therefore, upon your father's death, the creditor may sue his estate for payment of the debt. Thus, although your mother may anticipate inheriting all of your father's estate, that estate will be liable to pay the debt, and if the creditor is successful in making its claim against the estate, your mother will, in effect, pay for the debt due to inheriting your father's estate subject to this debt. With that said, if your mother is the direct beneficiary of the life insurance proceeds, the creditor may not reach the $18,000 death benefit from the insurance policy, as long as those proceeds are not payable to your father's estate. If your mother is deceased, then the same principles apply to the children as inheritors of the estate. In no event will your mother or the children be obligated for the debt in excess of the value of your father's estate, excluding the insurance proceeds. So, for example, let's say your father's debt is $50,000, and that he has separate property valued at $20,000 and there is $18,000 in death benefit payable to your mother under the insurance policy. The creditor may go after only the $20,000 of separate assets of your father, and if the creditor is successful in collecting the $20,000 in satisfaction of the debt, that is all the creditor will be able to receive. The creditor cannot sue your mother or the children for the $30,000 remaining on the debt, neither can the creditor touch the insurance proceeds.

Powers of Attorney are terminated by the death of the principal. After that person dies, a Power of Attorney should neither be used or accepted. An executor, administrator or personal representative of the decedent's estate, has the authority to act with respect to an account owned by the decedent. In virtually every case, this person must actually be appointed (by the Court) to this position. Many individuals believe that this authority simply springs from the Will itself, without the Court's involvement, and they are wrong. Once appointed, the executor will typically need to show proof of his or her appointment to the third-party (like a bank). Letters Testamentary are routinely issued by the Clerk to demonstrate evidence of this appointed authority, and these Letters are typically all that is required, although some financial institutions might also request a Death Certificate.