I'll try to relate the facts without being lengthy. Honestly it puzzles me.
When my dad was alive he gave me power of attorney over his finances. For after his death he wanted my sister to be executor of his estate. Dad wanted us to share in having to do some calculations with his finances. In his will we were to get an equal share of everything (my sister & myself were his only living children). Dad died a few years ago. My sister managed to nearly settle the entire estate, except for Certificates of Deposit that were held in a savings institution that went belly up when the market crashed. (They were not federally insured... and the government didn't bail this bank out the way it did many others.) A class action suit followed & that company was instructed by the judge to pay everyone back. They began sending a 20 to 30 thousand dollar check about once every year. This bank was where my parents had the bulk of their money invested, hundreds of thousands of dollars. As I said my sister settled everything else, but she kept one account open with 200 dollars in it, to be used as a place to deposit any future checks from the settlement with the bank. That 200 dollar account is set up as part of the estate.
My sister died last month in her home in Delaware. I live in Florida. I was informed that when my sister's partner tried to probate her estate this matter I've just mentioned came up. I now understand that I am expected to go to Delaware, go to their city hall with ID and my sister's death certificate. My father's estate must now be opened all over again, from the beginning. I was told this shouldn't be an extremely lengthy process as I can just resubmit the information & figures my sister provided. But I was informed I am the only one who can do this.
I suppose... like it or not... I am going to have to do this. And in the long run there won't be any problems, confusion or hang ups when any future checks come in relation to my dad's estate.
I do not know if legally I am supposed to continue to share whatever future checks come, with my sister. According to her will everything she owned has been left to her partner. I might legally be expected to share those checks with her. I don't have any problem with that, in fact to me it feels like the morally right thing to do.
Does anyone here have advice or insight they can offer me? Thanks!
When my dad was alive he gave me power of attorney over his finances. For after his death he wanted my sister to be executor of his estate. Dad wanted us to share in having to do some calculations with his finances. In his will we were to get an equal share of everything (my sister & myself were his only living children). Dad died a few years ago. My sister managed to nearly settle the entire estate, except for Certificates of Deposit that were held in a savings institution that went belly up when the market crashed. (They were not federally insured... and the government didn't bail this bank out the way it did many others.) A class action suit followed & that company was instructed by the judge to pay everyone back. They began sending a 20 to 30 thousand dollar check about once every year. This bank was where my parents had the bulk of their money invested, hundreds of thousands of dollars. As I said my sister settled everything else, but she kept one account open with 200 dollars in it, to be used as a place to deposit any future checks from the settlement with the bank. That 200 dollar account is set up as part of the estate.
My sister died last month in her home in Delaware. I live in Florida. I was informed that when my sister's partner tried to probate her estate this matter I've just mentioned came up. I now understand that I am expected to go to Delaware, go to their city hall with ID and my sister's death certificate. My father's estate must now be opened all over again, from the beginning. I was told this shouldn't be an extremely lengthy process as I can just resubmit the information & figures my sister provided. But I was informed I am the only one who can do this.
I suppose... like it or not... I am going to have to do this. And in the long run there won't be any problems, confusion or hang ups when any future checks come in relation to my dad's estate.
I do not know if legally I am supposed to continue to share whatever future checks come, with my sister. According to her will everything she owned has been left to her partner. I might legally be expected to share those checks with her. I don't have any problem with that, in fact to me it feels like the morally right thing to do.
Does anyone here have advice or insight they can offer me? Thanks!
