Additional Information: I am in the position where I have to decide whether to put my father in a Massachusetts nursing home or not. I have found a facility in Greater Boston area that seems appropriate, it costs $4,500 per month. My brother has said he would like to keep him out of a nursing home.  Could my father pay my brother the $4,500 per month instead of paying it into a nursing home? What are

Additional Information: My grandmother and I live in Danvers, MA.  We are co-owners of a mutual fund account. She purchased it around March of 2005 and thought she had named me as co-owner, but truly named me as beneficiary. We caught the mistake and had my name added as joint owner about 2.5 years ago. She is currently in assisted living but may require nursing care in the future. She tells me to take the money

Additional Information: Dad died without a will. He and our mother are both on the deed to the house, he continued to live in and were divorced a few years ago. What will happen to the house, will it go to her automatically? And would we have to go into probate? (not really sure what that means) ATTORNEY ANSWER: You should first review the divorce decree. If the decree awards the property to your father, he

Additional Information: There are 3 equal beneficiaries to the trust.  One of the beneficiaries is wanting to sell and the other 2 do not want to.  At any point can the house be sold or rented without all 3 in agreement?  Thank you. ATTORNEY ANSWER: In order to ascertain what the beneficiaries’ rights are under the trust agreement, you must first look at the trust agreement. Typically, the beneficiaries cannot demand from the Trustee that the

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My grandfather, a PA resident, passed away earlier this month and left no will. He and my grandmother (still living) held accounts jointly as well as separately. Because he died intestate, his personal accounts will be divided between my grandmother and the three children. The children do not want the money and would rather let my grandmother keep it. If they each file a disclaimer, does the money go to my grandmother or to

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Can the executor of an estate bill on a flat fee hourly basis or does the executor charge for their services according to a percentage of the value of the estate? ATTORNEY ANSWER: The Executor of the estate in Massachusetts may be paid reasonable compensation for the type of work he preformed. The Executor must list the payment to himself in the Accountings. If you disagree with the amount the Executor has paid himself,

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Social Security will now start with-holding back child support from payment made to nursing home. He has no income and no way to pay the difference. ATTORNEY ANSWER: I am going to assume from your question that the nursing home resident is receiving Mediciad benefits. For patients who are on Medicaid in the nursing home, the nursing home is paid partially by the resident through the resident’s income and Medicaid pays the balance. The

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mom died and my brother was the “executor” of the estate and his name was on the deed of her main house.  Now there was no will but all of her assets and bills were taken care of by my brother. This is in Massachusetts, but she had a vacation home in NH. I was told we would have put that home through a separate probate or wait a certain number of years

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: I am in a dispute over a house between myself and my mother.  We both own the house we need to settle in court.  How can we get a hearing and how long does it take to get one? ATTORNEY ANSWER: First, I do not know that Probate Court is the appropriate venue for your hearing. If all parties who own the property are alive, Land Court may be the correct forum.   Secondly, a

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mother recently passed and we don’t know for sure if she had a will. We know that she always said that she had but now our dad is saying that she didn’t.  He is taking control over all of her possessions saying that he can do what he wants. I’ve been living in one of the houses for 22 years and have been paying the taxes but the receipts were in my mother