Ottakee Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 In March my brother passed away suddenly. He had a will and I am personal representative. He had 13% interest in 13 different properties in 2 states and 6 counties. That all has to be probated….and some pieces are worth a grand total of under $200…..so his portion is worth about $26. Then last week my mother passed away. She had a trust but had 33% interest in the same 13 properties out of state that my brother did (family land my father owned before he died) that was not in the trust. Now I am navigating the possibility of 14 probates….2 people x 7 different counties (6 of which are out of state) each. Praying we can figure out how to do this all as efficiently as possible as the entire family that has part ownership wants to sell it all and divide up the money based on the percentages. Anyone do probate out of state? With the lowest possible costs? 29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I'm so sorry for your losses @Ottakee. I don't have any advice, but sending hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 So sad for you . Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasProud Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Oh my goodness, what a mess. No advice, but huge hugs. Dealing with this on top of your losses.... So sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I am so sorry for your losses. No advice except get a lawyer who does probate, the costs should come out of the estate. Hugs for you and your family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 (edited) No advice, but hugs. That sure sounds like a LOT of work for such little interest in a property. And to do it while grieving the loss of two family members…I’m sorry. In our experience probate court clerks can be really helpful guiding you through things. I hope that’s the case for you since it sounds like an attorney would cost way more than their interests. Edited May 10 by Annie G 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 11 Author Share Posted May 11 1 hour ago, saraha said: I am so sorry for your losses. No advice except get a lawyer who does probate, the costs should come out of the estate. Hugs for you and your family Issue is that lawyer might cost way more than money estate has. We need to streamline this as much as possible. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkTulip Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 I’m so sorry. That is a ton of work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballmom Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 I’m so sorry you are navigating so much loss and having to do all kinds of legal work too. Big hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 35 minutes ago, Ottakee said: Issue is that lawyer might cost way more than money estate has. We need to streamline this as much as possible. I had a similar problem when my dad died. It was just me, but the amount of money wasn't worth the legal costs so we (DH and I) just let it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 11 Author Share Posted May 11 20 minutes ago, Kassia said: I had a similar problem when my dad died. It was just me, but the amount of money wasn't worth the legal costs so we (DH and I) just let it go. Were you able to close the estate by letting things go? We were told that for some land pieces it would be 2 years for them to revert back to the state and we don’t want the estates open that long. Most of the pieces we don’t want and would even give to the neighbors if they wanted but the cost of all of the deed changes and title work might not make it worth it. one piece is literally 1/16th of an acre, another is a triangle 5x15 ft 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 4 hours ago, Ottakee said: Were you able to close the estate by letting things go? We were told that for some land pieces it would be 2 years for them to revert back to the state and we don’t want the estates open that long. Most of the pieces we don’t want and would even give to the neighbors if they wanted but the cost of all of the deed changes and title work might not make it worth it. one piece is literally 1/16th of an acre, another is a triangle 5x15 ft This was ten years ago and I don't remember much about it, but it was very simple with no land, property, and just a little bit of money. I think the part we had to let go was some pension money that was owed to him or something like that. It might have even been his tax return from that year? It wasn't a lot, which was why it wasn't worth getting an attorney for. Yours sounds much more complicated for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 11 Author Share Posted May 11 5 hours ago, Kassia said: This was ten years ago and I don't remember much about it, but it was very simple with no land, property, and just a little bit of money. I think the part we had to let go was some pension money that was owed to him or something like that. It might have even been his tax return from that year? It wasn't a lot, which was why it wasn't worth getting an attorney for. Yours sounds much more complicated for sure. Yes. This is complicated. As a family we had planned to sell all of this land this spring to clean everything up but then my brother passed suddenly and my mom caught Covid which hastened her passing…..so here we are. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 So sorry for your loss Ottakee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 Sorry for your loss. You can decline to be personal rep., especially if you are going to have to pay from your own resources to get things taken care of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wishes Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 So sorry for your loss @Ottakee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 My understanding of Probate in Michigan is that the court takes a percentage of the estate for the costs of processing the estate legally which the court would not have needed to do if there had been a will or trust. If the estate is worth less than $24,000, there is a simpler process called "probate for small estates", and they do not take as much money to cover court costs. Above $24,000, it is a lot more complicated and expenses are much more. If there is out of state property that makes it even more complicated. If this land is not in a trust or will, I don't think you can avoid probate. It is just Michigan law which is why it is so important to get folks to have a will even if it is just a very simple one. Even though you would like to clear this up quickly, unless the estate is less than $24,000 and does not include out of state property, I don't think you can avoid probate court, and in all likelihood, 2-3 year process should be expected. From what I know of Michigan Law, it is impossible to avoid probate if a person dies intestate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 11 Author Share Posted May 11 4 hours ago, Faith-manor said: My understanding of Probate in Michigan is that the court takes a percentage of the estate for the costs of processing the estate legally which the court would not have needed to do if there had been a will or trust. If the estate is worth less than $24,000, there is a simpler process called "probate for small estates", and they do not take as much money to cover court costs. Above $24,000, it is a lot more complicated and expenses are much more. If there is out of state property that makes it even more complicated. If this land is not in a trust or will, I don't think you can avoid probate. It is just Michigan law which is why it is so important to get folks to have a will even if it is just a very simple one. Even though you would like to clear this up quickly, unless the estate is less than $24,000 and does not include out of state property, I don't think you can avoid probate court, and in all likelihood, 2-3 year process should be expected. From what I know of Michigan Law, it is impossible to avoid probate if a person dies intestate. My brother had a will…..so glad about that. My mother had a trust for her Michigan stuff (so very easy) but a will for the out of state properties. After more digging, I might be able to just do one probate for each state and not have to do it in each out of state county. Complicating matters is that there are also mineral rights under lease (payout is very small and sometimes only 1-2 times a year). I need to do this work as personal representative as otherwise a sibling has to do it and I will have the most time this summer (work in education) to do it. I just highly suggest that everyone has a basic will at the very least…….and carefully consider jointly owning properties with other family members. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 On 5/10/2024 at 7:15 PM, Ottakee said: Issue is that lawyer might cost way more than money estate has. We need to streamline this as much as possible. I don’t know if this is possible but can you just not do it since there is no value to speak of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 I think that there is a way to just decline an inheritance. That would take your part of it and parcel it out to everyone else. If enough people do it, maybe it would simplify things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 I’m sorry for your loss and what a mess. No advice but I hope you find a way to deal with it as simply as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 I am so sorry you have to deal with all of this when you are grieving. 😢 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHP Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Joining with an ugh Hiring an attorney for our cluster from recent death. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosla Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) So sorry for your losses. We didn't have the same situation but a similar one. I should say, consulting with a lawyer via the us lawshield customer service helped us figure some things out. Maybe you can also find a lawyer who will just consult you without hiring and paying for this. Hugs Edited May 22 by Rosla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 On 5/12/2024 at 6:22 PM, SHP said: Joining with an ugh Hiring an attorney for our cluster from recent death. Sorry you have this too. we are meeting a lawyer tomorrow for a short visit and then will contact ones in SC and WV as needed. I guess a positive is that both estates have almost all of the same properties, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyMom5 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 If they are co-owners, is it possible to do a quit claim deed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 6 hours ago, BusyMom5 said: If they are co-owners, is it possible to do a quit claim deed? We aren’t sure if we can do a quit claim deed or not as part of each of their estates. we want to sell the properties but my moms are divided 1/3 to each of the 3 living children. Then my brothers interests are to go partly to my sister and partly to my brother based in his wishes. We need to find out if we will have to reseed everything into the correct names/percentages before we sell or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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