Questions & Answers

How do i sell mothers home,without power of attorney?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Mother is in nursing home, money is running out soon. I am her daughter, but I don’t have durable power of attorney.What do I need to do,legally to sell her home, so that I can continue to pay her nursing home bill/utilities/property taxes/and medications? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: Under Medicaid, her home is a non-countable assets. Instead of trying to sell the house, you should consult with an elder law attorney about

Can you charge a fee if you are the administrator or executor in an informal probate?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: What would that fee be? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: As Personal Representative, you may charge reasonable fees to the estate. You may charge differently for different tasks. For example, cleaning out the basement would be charged out at a lesser amount than the preparation of the tax return for the estate or the decedent. You will need to keep records on how long you spent on each task. Your fee will be

How do open a checking account if the Insurance Policy checks are made out to the Estate of?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My Fiancé passed away over a year ago. I was Power of Attorney and 100 percent beneficiary of his Trust. He got too sick to transfer everything under the trust. Now I have a pour over will naming me Personal Representative. Giving me full power with no bond. The banks will not accept the will. They are telling me they need a letter stating I have legal rights to the money. I don’t know

MassHealth estate recovery and probate litigation

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: How much time does Masshealth have to make such a claim? Is there a time limit? Also, it is my understanding that they can only take whatever the decedent owned at the time of death. I assume then, any insurance proceedings and lawsuits proceedings post death are not available to Masshealth right? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: The normal creditor period in Massachusetts is a year from the date of death. However, MassHealth’s

My grandmother would like to change her power of attorney. How can she do so?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My grandmother currently has a family friend designated as her POA. She would now like me to be her POA. How can we make this change? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: All she has to do is execute a new power of attorney and notify the old agent that the old power of attorney was revoked. This is easily done through an attorney. The attorney will need to meet with your grandmother alone

In MA, if Medicaid paid for a deceased hospitalization, do the heirs have to wait until the Estate Recovery fund is paid back?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In MA, if Medicaid paid for a deceased hospitalization which is now in probate, does the administrator/heirs have to wait until the Estate Recovery fund is paid back before collecting any inheritances? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: MassHealth is a creditor of the estate. MassHealth is notified when the probate documents are filed with the probate court and has by statute a right to submit a claim on the estate. Once the claim

Do I inherit my estranged spouse’s estate if no other survivors?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Husband and I have been separated for a couple of years. We have no kids. Husband has now passed away and he has no living heirs or other living relatives. He did not have a will. We had a very amicable separation but we had no property settlement agreement. What is the law in Mass regarding inheritance of a separated spouse? ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: Under Massachusetts law, until the divorce decree

Pending personal injury settlement needs to be put in special needs trust for disabled senior – what is best way to handle this?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Elderly mom will be receiving personal injury award. Expected to be $100K – $200K after lawyers & others are paid. Since mom is on Medicare & Medicaid, she’ll need a special needs trust to ensure that she isn’t disqualified from these government programs. Questions: 1) Since Medicare/Medicaid are means-driven programs, the recipient can’t have more than $2000 in assets. Does that mean the max she can withdraw from the trust is $2000?

How do I get a copy of my deceased mother’s will? Does a trust take prejudice over a will ?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: I’m an heir in the will as well as the trust. I’ve never received a copy of the will (from the executors) nor the trust ( from the trustees) ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS: A will and a trust work hand in hand. They do not cancel each other out. A will may establish a testamentary trust or it may fund a trust which your mother created during her lifetime. Have your requested

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