Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Connecticut

Lots of questions... What steps do I need to take?

My mother died recently. She did not

have a will. Her only asset is a car

worth less than $2000. She has

maybe $10,000 in debt with the IRS

and credit cards. She had a small life

insurance policy of which I am the

beneficiary.

I'm really not sure what to do next.

It seems like initiating probate for a

$2000 car seems silly. And so does

getting a lawyer. Because I bought

the car, my siblings told me I should

sell it and keep the $. But how do I

transfer the title if there is no will?

Will the creditors come after the life

insurance money? I am planning on

paying for the funeral with that...

My mother didn't have any other

assets of real value, just some

furniture and family heirlooms that

we are all comfortable diving up

ourselves.

So, no assets over $2k, no will, just

debt and a $10k life insurance policy.

What to do?

Thanks for your guidance. I am so

lost right now.


Asked on 7/19/09, 9:49 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Linda Subbloie Linda A. Subbloie, Esq.

Re: Lots of questions... What steps do I need to take?

You can go down to the probate court in the town where your mother lived and file an affidavit in lieu of estate indicating that she had assets of less than $40,000.00 and that all of her debts have been paid to the extent of the value of her assets. Generally, funeral expenses are paid first, so I would think that you shouldn't have to worry about the debt owed to the IRS.

Furthermore, the life insurance passes outside of probate, so this also should not be a problem, even if you file the affidavit.

You should be able to keep the life insurance proceedings without a problem and use them to pay the funeral expenses. You should also be able to use the proceeds from the sale of the vehicle to pay the funeral expenses as well. You will be given a document from the probate court that you can take to the motor vehicle department to use to transfer the vehicle.

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Answered on 7/19/09, 11:52 am


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