Help with Estate

[Anonymous]

My dad died almost a month ago. We received a copy of his will from his attorney. My mother is the executor but is suffering from diagnosed dementia. We are doing power of attorney for my mom and I was listed as next in command.

I read over the documents and feel confused. Should I hire an attorney or accountant to assist? I really don’t want someone to do it for me but if they could break the language down and help me figure out what to file, that would be great. A lot of the jargon has me feeling confused and I will be returning to work in a few days so my time will be limited.

[Anonymous]

OP, what state are you in? The procedure for probating an estate will be dictated by the State/County were your Dad was a resident. I would suggest you hire an estate attorney from that state, and county if you have that choice.

How about the attorney/practice that wrote the will? Whomever, an attorney can advise re: next steps given your Mom's condition. Sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

OP, pp again. Almost anyone you come across who has dealt with the elderly can give you a suggestion re: an estate attorney. A relative. A hospital social worker. The County Clerk's Office (they can't make a "recommendation" but most likely could give you a list)

[Anonymous]

Absolutely you should hire a local estate attorney. I’m an attorney and will be hiring someone to hire my dads will no question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what state are you in? The procedure for probating an estate will be dictated by the State/County were your Dad was a resident. I would suggest you hire an estate attorney from that state, and county if you have that choice.

How about the attorney/practice that wrote the will? Whomever, an attorney can advise re: next steps given your Mom's condition. Sorry for your loss.

Thanks, I’m in Maryland. I’ve been using my savings to keep everything a float for my mom. The good news is dad worked hard and left mom taken care of. He was also very organized. The not so great news was he died unexpectedly and I’ve been scrambling trying to figure all of this out. I have support though, I’m just so lost throughout this process.

[Anonymous]

I'm an attorney too, and I too recommend finding an estate attorney. This is hard enough with the sudden loss of your dad; just spend the money and find one. Since your dad was organized it shouldn't be too bad.

Your dad's estate should be able to pay for this service -- it shouldn't come out of your pocket.

Is there money in her checking/savings account? Since you're the executor it's legit to use that money to pay for keeping her afloat, or to be reimbursed for whatever you're spending -- just document everything, keep receipts, etc.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been using my savings to keep everything a float for my mom

You don't have to be doing this - an attorney can help your family get a first disbursement, as long as the estate has some assets, almost immediately

[Anonymous]

I'm an attorney, and unless money is a significant issue, I would enlist the help of a local attorney. They'll be able to quickly tell you what you need to do and let you know if you've overlooked anything.