Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Condolences on your loss.

You or another close heir will have to open an estate and administer it, whether or not she had a will. Administration requires paying all debts including taxes. You are probably eligible for a "family exemption", which reduces the assets in the estate for tax purposes (that is, it will lower the amount of taxes due).

Depending on exactly how the CD was titled and when it was purchased, it may be all yours, or it may be 1/2 yours and 1/2 in your mother's estate or even 100% hers. Your personal assets do not have to be used to pay her debts.

If you do not have sufficient money to advance the payment of funeral expenses, try to negotiate an arrangement with the funeral home to wait for the release of the CD money.

You probably should consult an estates lawyer in your area to help you figure this out.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

In answer to you inheritance tax question, PA law provides that all transfers are subject to tax as outlined in the statutes below:

72 P.S. � 9107 Transfers subject to tax

(a) The transfers enumerated in this section are subject to the tax imposed by section 2106.

(b) All transfers of property by will, by the intestate laws of this Commonwealth or, in the case of a transfer from a nonresident, by the laws of succession of another jurisdiction are subject to tax. The transfer of property of a person determined by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction to be a presumed decedent is subject to tax within the meaning of this section and section 2108.

(c) (1) All transfers of property specified in subclauses (3) through (7) which are made by a resident or a nonresident during his lifetime are subject to tax to the extent that they are made without valuable and adequate consideration in money or money's worth at the time of transfer.

(2) When the decedent retained or reserved an interest or power with respect to only a part of the property transferred, in consequence of which a tax is imposed under subclauses (4) through (7), the amount of the taxable transfer is only the value of that portion of the property transferred which is subject to the retained or reserved interest or power.

(3) A transfer conforming to subclause (1) and made within one year of the death of the transferor is subject to tax only to the extent that the value at the time of the transfer or transfers in the aggregate to or for the benefit of the transferee exceeds three thousand dollars ($3,000) during any calendar year.

(4) A transfer conforming to subclause (1) which takes effect in possession or enjoyment at or after the death of the transferor and under which the transferor has retained a reversionary interest in the property, the value of which interest immediately before the death of the transferor exceeds five per cent of the value of the property transferred, is subject to tax. The term �reversionary interest� includes a possibility that property transferred may return to the transferor or his estate or may be subject to a power of disposition by him, but the term does not include a possibility that the income alone from the property may return to him or become subject to a power of disposition by him.

(5) A transfer conforming to subclause (1), and under which the transferor expressly or impliedly reserves for his life or any period which does not in fact end before his death, the possession or enjoyment of, or the right to the income from, the property transferred, or the right, either alone or in conjunction with any person not having an adverse interest, to designate the persons who shall possess or enjoy the property transferred or the income from the property, is subject to tax.

(6) A transfer conforming to subclause (1), and under which the transferee promises to make payments to, or for the benefit of, the transferor or to care for the transferor during the remainder of the transferor's life, is subject to tax.

(7) A transfer conforming to subclause (1), and under which the transferor has at his death, either in himself alone or in conjunction with any person not having an adverse interest, a power to alter, amend or revoke the interest of the beneficiary, is subject to tax. Similarly, the relinquishment of such a power within one year of the death of the transferor is a transfer subject to tax except as otherwise provided in subclause (3).

(d) All succeeding interests which follow the interest of a surviving spouse in a trust or similar arrangement, to the extent specified in section 2113, are transfers subject to tax as if the surviving spouse were the transferor.

72 P.S. � 9108 Joint tenancy

(a) When any property is held in the names of two or more persons or is deposited in a financial institution in the names of two or more persons so that, upon the death of one of them, the survivor or survivors have a right to the immediate ownership or possession and enjoyment of the whole property, the accrual of such right, upon the death of one of them, shall be deemed a transfer subject to tax of a fractional portion of such property to be determined by dividing the value of the whole property by the number of joint tenants in existence immediately preceding the death of the deceased joint tenant.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), this section shall not apply to property or interests in property passing by right of survivorship to the survivor of husband and wife.

(c) If the co-ownership was created within one year prior to the death of the co-tenant, the entire interest transferred shall be subject to tax only under, and to the extent stated in, subsection (c)(3) of section 2107 [FN1] as though a part of the estate of the person who created the co-ownership.

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I know what you say about the CD, but either this is yours, hers or half for each of you. If its yours in whole or in part, there would be an inheritance tax owed. If the cd is your mother's, then put the proceeds of the whole thing into your mother's estate and use it to pay her bills (including costs of administration and the family exemption) from the proceeds of the CD. If there is anything left, then an inheritance tax would be paid on that.

You should seek out local probate counsel to assist you with administering your mother's estate so that it is done correctly and to minimize any taxes that you would owe.