Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee
Estate of Mother in Nursing home
My Aunt's mother passed away, she had been in the nursing home for 3 or 4 years on Medicaid.
The nursing home wrote a check to the ''Estate of'' in refund for the money not used from the 30 a month allowed by social Security. the check was for a small sum of around $1,000 I think. My aunt could not just deposit the money into her account to give to her mentally handicapped brother, and has been told she will have to go through probate . Can you give us any help on any alernatives for this .
Her mother lived in Humbolt, TN.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Estate of Mother in Nursing home
If the entire estate is under $25,000.00, a Small Estate Affidavit can be filed with the Probate Court. This can avoid a full probate which is required when estates exceed $25,000.00.