Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Ohio

Letters Testamentary needed

My husband passed away Aug '06 and left no will. He had beneficiary designations for his life insurance & 401(K) with the respective agencies. His mother that had passed away in Feb '06, left him, his sister, and his brother her annuity. At no time did the annuity holder have any of her heirs sign a beneficiary form. With my husbands death they have suspended everyone's payments until I can get Letters Testamentary. The problem, we lived in OH at the time of his death and now I live in TX. How do I go about getting the Letters Testamentary from out of state? My husbands estate is very small. His two children from his first marriage and I got our portions of his life insurance like he wanted and I got his 401(K) like he wanted. I also put his only asset (an old pickup truck)in my name. Hope all this informations helps. Thank you for any responses.


Asked on 4/12/07, 11:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Letters Testamentary needed

If necessary, you would hire an attorney to open a probate estate in the Ohio County that your husband resided in at the time of his death. If the estate is small, it may be a Release from Administration or not require Administration. If that is the case, you need to tell the Annuity Company that no estate was needed under Ohio law because either there were no probate assets or the amount was below the limit needing full administration. It may have more meaning coming from an attorney. Perhaps they would accept an affidavit that no administration is needed. Sometimes a copy of the statute is enough to satisfy them. The probate estate are only assets in your husband's name alone with no named beneficiary.

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Answered on 4/12/07, 11:45 am


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