Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

I'm so sorry to hear about your father.

The most important thing to determine is where your father resided when he passed away. You should speak with an attorney in the State where your father resided when he passed and discuss the next step in terms of becoming appointed representative of his estate.

Best of luck to you, and do not hesitate to contact our office if your father passed here in Massachusetts. Here in Massachusetts, you would be appointed administrator or executor of his estate and then have the authority to deal with his property and assets.

What you need to do depends on whether the assets passes inside or outside probate. For those assets which your father owned outright and didn't have a co-owner or beneficiary, you will need to petition to probate his estate. For other assets that have beneficiary designations, you will need to contact the pension plan, 401K administrator, and find out from each entity what you need to do to see if you have been named a beneficiary of that account. Keep in mind that there may be tax implications for what happens with each asset

A good probate attorney is invaluable and can walk you this process to be sure that you protect the interests of your father's estate and protect yourself from the claims of relatives who may yet crawl out of the woodwork.

My condolences on your loss.

Assuming your father resided and died in MA, then you need to file a Petition for Administration of his estate. If you have any siblings, neices or nephews, who are issue of your father, they have to be given notice of the Petition and will have a right to part of the estate as well.

I suggest you contact a probate attorney for assistance and move forward with your petition as sonn as possible.