What happens when we die ?

R

rgp

Well-known Member
Location
Milford,OH
I don't mean physically .

I mean if we are found dead, and we have no living will ? or a will in general ?

I have had that on my mind all day .......... I feel fine as far as that goes. I have always heard the state takes over everything , and your 💰. I suppose it's true, what else would they do ?

Anyway ....... Hope I don't croak overnight .... I do need to get my affairs in order.
 

I'm in the process of "getting my affairs in order". Just made arrangements to prepay for my own cremation. Next week is get an updated will made, leaving what little will be left to my only son. He is already POD on my bank account and on my IRA. He has a list of user IDs and passwords for all the utilities and online stuff I do (including this website). He knows that I do not want any sort of service or obit, just a facebook post will be sufficient. I do need to research car titles here in FL to see if I can designate him as POD for the car.

I want to make it easy for him.
 
rgp said:
I do need to get my affairs in order.
Click to expand...
We all do, there are some easy online forms for will making, do it!
oldaunt said:
Being dead, I don't think it would matter to me.
Click to expand...
Good point, but know where it is going when still alive makes me feel a bit better. I don't want the State to get it, rather donate to anything than that.
 
My brother said when he died, everything would go to me.
Well, No one was left.
He died and left no will or anything.
The storage company refused any admittance to his belongings
without a will. (all his tools, ship models, etc.)
It was kind of a nightmare without anything in writing.
Had to tell myself, "Hey, It's only STUFF." because most was lost.
 
I did legalzoom years ago and put the papers in a safety deposit box. I actually had assets then. Now I'm poor. I did designate siblings that can take legal control of everything and dispose of it. Am gonna close the safety deposit box this year. Might redo the will. Put some harsh words in it back then.
 
rgp said:
I don't mean physically .

I mean if we are found dead, and we have no living will ? or a will in general ?

I have had that on my mind all day .......... I feel fine as far as that goes. I have always heard the state takes over everything , and your 💰. I suppose it's true, what else would they do ?

Anyway ....... Hope I don't croak overnight .... I do need to get my affairs in order.
Click to expand...
Your body is collected by a state coroner. He does what he can to identify you via fingerprints, DNA, tattoos, dental work, and find your next of kin. If you're unidentified after a certain # of days or weeks (varies state to state) and/or there's no next of kin, your body and your assets become the responsibility of the state where you died. The state buries you and sells or takes ownership of your major assets, and the dept of sanitation hauls off what's left.
 
We have a will, everything to our son. However there is one person who would probably contest the will. So we made sure that it goes to our son, he is co-owner of our car, he is also co-owner of our home.
 
I recently consulted an Elder Law Attorney and arranged my estate. Many state legislatures have made transferring money and property so much easier than it was when I was growing up. Then a will was required and it had to be filed with probate court with the executor reporting the dispensation of the assets to the court. If there was no will or executor named, the court would appoint an executor who would be paid from the estate for administering the estate according to law. Today however, many states have “Pay On Death” (POD) papers that can be filed at the Court House for Real Estate and at the Banks for money. Your heir that is named on the (POD) Pay on Death paper simply presents your Death Certificate and their ID and the money or real property is transferred to them immediately with no muss or fuss. Banks don’t charge anything for this service. Transferring a property deed at the Court House requires a small fee. This varies from state to state. Check with an Elder Law Attorney.
 
rgp said:
I don't mean physically .

I mean if we are found dead, and we have no living will ? or a will in general ?

I have had that on my mind all day .......... I feel fine as far as that goes. I have always heard the state takes over everything , and your 💰. I suppose it's true, what else would they do ?

Anyway ....... Hope I don't croak overnight .... I do need to get my affairs in order.
Click to expand...
You can go to an attorney and get free counsel and ask those questions and get the facts straight from the right source.
 
rgp said:
I don't mean physically .

I mean if we are found dead, and we have no living will ? or a will in general ?

I have had that on my mind all day .......... I feel fine as far as that goes. I have always heard the state takes over everything , and your 💰. I suppose it's true, what else would they do ?

Anyway ....... Hope I don't croak overnight .... I do need to get my affairs in order.
Click to expand...
Order of distribution:

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2105.06
 
We've put everything into a living trust, so the kids don't have to fool with probate when the time comes. We also have wills, powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney, etc. I've seen some pass who didn't have their paperwork in order, and it took months for the estate to be settled.
 
Don M. said:
We've put everything into a living trust, so the kids don't have to fool with probate when the time comes. We also have wills, powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney, etc. I've seen some pass who didn't have their paperwork in order, and it took months for the estate to be settled.
Click to expand...
Hubby and I have made sure our paperwork is in place to make things easy for our children after we are gone. We have prepared our wills, power of attorney, medical guardianship and sorted out the deeds to our house. Just recently we finished paying for our funerals and there is some more money in a couple of designated accounts to allow for any memorialisation that the family might wish to establish. We are to be cremated but have made no arrangement for the ashes.

We've done this, not for ourselves, but for the family, to smooth the path for those who grieve. I expect to survive my husband but you never know what lies ahead. The last thing either of us needs is any squabbling when everyone's emotions are at an elevated level.
 
Warrigal said:
I expect to survive my husband but you never know what lies ahead.
Click to expand...
No we don't death is one of the most unplanned events in a person's life.

My mother was quite healthy, a runner and always ate right. Her father who was less careful lived to 100. My mother's husband was a heavy smoker, drank too much, weighed too much and did not exercise. He was also a few years older.

They both planned on him passing first, set everything up assuming that. Then my mother got lung cancer, more than 50 years after quitting smoking, and died. He lived another 10 years. Totally unpredictable, but it happens, best to prepare now.
 
I have nothing but my truck, my bed, laptop and the clothes I wear. My only concern is what is done with and to my body. I have an Advanced Healthcare Directive on file with my medical people and the kids have copies, Signed and notarized The forms can be downloaded online. This is important as it lays out your wishes regarding end of life treatment, like, just pull the plug and let me go.
 
My partner, my mother and I went to an attorney when we moved to Dallas and had TX wills created for all three of us. My mother passed away in November of 2021, so there were no issues re: inheritance or Power of Attorney. I'm 8 years older than my partner, and if I die first there is no question that he will inherit everything. We also have medical directives. If we both die (say in a plane crash), his sister will inherit everything. She is very fiscally responsible and has 4 children, so it will go to someone very deserving who will spend it wisely. I would never risk having my home and hard-earned savings going to the state.
 
I was actually wondering about this today. I'll have no one. I'd like all my stuff to go the PAWS thrift if they are still in operation. If I ever buy a mobile and that can be sold, I don't know who would sell it. The only ones I think anything money wise could go to would be my brother's two daughters but after my stepfather is gone, I plan to go totally no contact with my brother due to his abusive behavior.
 
rgp said:
I don't mean physically .

I mean if we are found dead, and we have no living will ? or a will in general ?

I have had that on my mind all day .......... I feel fine as far as that goes. I have always heard the state takes over everything , and your 💰. I suppose it's true, what else would they do ?

Anyway ....... Hope I don't croak overnight .... I do need to get my affairs in order.
Click to expand...

Google "living trust & will" along with your area code tomorrow morning, as you sip your first cup of coffee. You'll see attorneys, legal firms....check their reviews on Yelp or Google Reviews, pick a couple that look promising and call them for an appointment.
 
Nathan said:
Google "living trust & will" along with your area code tomorrow morning, as you sip your first cup of coffee. You'll see attorneys, legal firms....check their reviews on Yelp or Google Reviews, pick a couple that look promising and call them for an appointment.
Click to expand...
That's good advice.

When I needed an attorney to get everything in order with my stepfather (his recommendation) I called the office of a former co-worker's ex-husband. She said he was a good attorney. The woman on the phone was nice but said they were not doing wills or trusts at that time but made a recommendation. Went with them and they were very good and accommodating with my stepfather's hearing loss. It wasn't super cheap but not an unreasonable charge either. Of coarse, I didn't pay it.

Edit to add: I also took a copy of the durable power of attorney for healthcare to the local hospital medical records department and they scanned it into their system so that is in place with them.
 
Well, as it turns out ...... I'm still here so . Thank you to those that replied & advised . I will contact an attorney. Maybe not today [Nathan] <grin> But soon.

My only relative is my 1/2 sister that lives in another state. Problem regarding her is our names. My last name is the same as my father, and a matter of record. Her last name is her married name ... no conection. Her maiden name is that of a man our mother was once married to ......60 years ago. He never adopted my sister ...... no connection ......... in honesty she does not know her true last name , or even who her father was.

As such IMO I will need to name her using her current married name ...... as just a person,not a relative ? Only problem there is ..... she's approaching 80 yrs , so I might [likely] survive her ? We never know ..... aside from her, there is no family. She has two adopted kids that i have not seen in 35 years [give or take] so i feel no connection / obligation to them. And there is no blood connection.

Which brings me back to the need to get up off my ass and make a will. My heart-felt connection is to ill children & homeless animals .

Hope this hasn't been to personal ?
 
From @ohioboy's link:
"If there is a spouse and one child of the decedent or the child's lineal descendants surviving and the surviving spouse is not the natural or adoptive parent of the decedent's child, the first twenty thousand dollars plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the child or the child's lineal descendants, per stirpes;"

So if I died today (which might happen I feel so bad from yesterday's Covid booster) my husband gets half our savings plus $20,000 and my son from a previous marriage gets the rest.

That sounds okay to me since my son is 1/3 owner of this house and I think they would remain living together.

The worry is that I think our savings in Vanguard is under my husband's name with me only as "survivor" or something like that. Would that money be considered my "intestate estate"?

We went to a lawyer a few years ago to get wills made for the two of us and after a few weeks we got a call from the lawyer saying he had made my husband's will but I "should see someone else." This was a repeat of when I divorced my first husband and found out in court that "our" lawyer was only working for the husband.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top