She died without a will. Estate goes to probate. It will be split up according to predetermined rules based on the number of heirs. There is no mystery here. No drama. No story. The more he fights the more he will lose to the lawyers.
The court and his siblings are probably glad that he is stepping up and taking reasonability. Closing out an estate is a lot of work. The estate of a screwball actress might particularly difficult.
“Intestate” is the term.
“She died without a will. Estate goes to probate. It will be split up according to predetermined rules based on the number of heirs. There is no mystery here. No drama. No story. The more he fights the more he will lose to the lawyers.”
You should get your facts straight.
The second son is a minor and a guardian has to be appointed. The older son is not contesting or fighting.
Who says anyone is fighting? Distribution by intestacy is not automatic; one still needs to file a probate action. The brothers will take everything equally. No will do the 20 year old gets the title administrator, not executor. He should not be appointed as guardian ad litem for his brother. It should be some independent third person, perhaps the child’s father. The lawyers will get paid a fee set by law. I do agree this should go very smoothly
“… It will be split up according to predetermined rules based on the number of heirs. There is no mystery here. No drama. No story. The more he fights the more he will lose to the lawyers.”
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She only had that son plus a younger son. Each will inherit half. There’s a good chance there will be no need for money-sucking lawyers other than possibly to do simple paperwork and setting up a trust for the younger son.
Who says he’s fighting? Somebody has to step up and request determination of heirship and administration of her estate. A third of my practice is probate and I wish more people would do this in a timely manner. I’ve had to tell three clients in the last few weeks that we can’t probate Abuela’s estate until we deal with Abuelo’s estate (Abuelo died anywhere from 10 to 30 years ago). Makes it a complete mess and expensive.
‘She died without a will. Estate goes to probate.’
having a will does not avoid probate...a trust, on the other hand...