Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
no will or life insurance?
A freind of my sons, Mother had passed away about 6 months ago.She had no will and no life insurance policy.She has 2 daughters the oldest is 20.She had agreed to be administer of the estate.She is totally overwhelmed by all of this.There is an attorney involved.The daughter has spoken to the paralegal,but is so confused about all of it.She owes the money for the burial which is already past due with added interest,there is a home involved which she cannot afford to keep.It had been refinanced a few years ago and has alot of money owed on it.She doesnt have the money to pay the burial expense and doesnt know what to do with the home.The paralegal told her she needs to decide what to do with the house.What are her options as far as the house is concerned? Is she responsible to keep up the mortgage payments?She is still living in the home,but cannot afford to stay there.shes concerned that her mothers debts will affect her if she loses the house.As for the burial expense is there any help she can get for that?I would truly appreciate any help or advice you could give.This is truly overwhelming this young girl.The attorney has all the records from the house,can she get these back if she would decide she doesnt want to go to them?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: no will or life insurance?
If the administratrix for her mother's estate signed personally to be obligated for the burial expenses, she may be personally obligated to advance the payment.
If she has gathered together all of her mother's assets and debts, and the only item in the estate with value is the house, she may have to sell it in order to pay off the mortgage and other debts, including burial expenses (or reimbursing herself, if she advances payment for burial expenses).
If there are insufficient assets in the estate to pay debts, it is considered an "insolvent" estate. By filing a PA inheritance tax return showing this, and getting confirmation from the PA Department of Revenue to that effect, notices should be sent to the creditors advising them of that fact so that they do not continue to demand payment.
The administratrix is NOT personally liable for any of her mother's debts. Unless her name is also on the house and the mortgage, which sounds unlikely, given her age, her credit would not be affected if the mortgage is foreclosed. But if there is any value left in the house, she'd be better off selling it, using proceeds to pay the obligations of the estate, in the order of their priority (there is a statute that governs this), and then use the balance, if any, to find another place for herself and her younger sibling to live.
If there are any older family members who could support her in this, perhaps they could assist her.
She should definitely try to get answers from the attorney handling the estate, not the paralegal. If the attorney is not communicating or responding to her calls, she should seek other legal counsel. If she is income eligible, she may be able to get pro bono assistance from the County Community Legal Assistance office, or at least a referral to a low-fee or no-fee lawyer. All clients have the right to dismiss a lawyer and hire a new one, and the new lawyer would be able to arrange to get her documents from the first lawyer, if necessary.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
