My Brothers Estate

[thclimer]

So sorry to learn of your loss Eddie.

Take your time with making the big decisions that you and your family have ahead of you.

Hoping the best for you all during this difficult time.

 

[dodge man]

That’s a nice write up you put on your Facebook page Eddie. Condolences to you and your family.

 

[ljjhouser]

I am sorry that you lost your brother. Brings difficult times. But he will always be with you and your family. They say "Times heals everything." ... Not really true. But I do believe "time changes things." Smile when you feel like, cry when you feel the need, but never forget.

Three years ago, my brother was lost. I always think of the last part of a poem - "All to Myself" by Wilbur Nesbit.
All to myself I think of you,
Think of the things we used to do,
Think of the things we used to say,
Think of each happy, bygone day;
Sometimes I sigh and sometimes I smile,
But I keep each olden, golden while
All to myself.

Best Wishes, Take Care

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and the family.

 

[dougtrr2]

Be prepared for bureaucracy, some of the people/organizations you will have to deal with won't talk to you until you have a death certificate in hand.

Doug in SW IA

 

[dieselcrawler]

Condolences...

I hope the following steps that need taken go smoothly for you and your family.

 

[ustmd]

Eddie,

I very sorry for your loss and my condolences to you and your family.

I lost one my brothers in very similar circumstances in 2019, so I can appreciate your situation.

Lots of good advice here.

Perhaps the best is not to rush any decisions. You need time to process the grief.

Similarly, my brother left about $40K in credit card and other debits--all in 5-10K increments. I sent them the death certificates and with a letter letting them know that my brother had died intestate. All of them ended up writing off the debit. It was not worth for them to go to court. I know this sounds like I was scamming them, but as a lawyer friend advised me, the debit was not mine, it was the various credit card companies'. The estate was not liquid (i.e. no cash), so it was their problem and they (not me) needed to decide if it was worth it for them to try to any money back.

 

[ericm979]

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope everyone is dealing ok and you're not too overwhelmed with the sudden amount of stuff to do.

In most states, estates that are below a threshold (which varies from state to state) does not go through probate. Both of my parent's estates were below the threshold for their states. You may need to file an affidavit with the state or county attesting to the value of the estate. I didn't need a lawyer.

In my case both parents had wills naming me as the executor. If there no will then there's a defined sequence of who is executor. Of course if there is a will, the executor has to follow it. Keep records and any funds in a dedicated account in case anyone want to challenge how you are doing things.

If a small estate owes more than it has, the executor has to decide which creditors get paid. At least in my experience there's no negotiating. I just told the ones I decided not to pay that there was nothing for them. I picked the big medical corps to stiff and paid off the small companies and individuals. No one argued with me about it.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm pretty sure all states have different regulations concerning estates settlement.

 

[Sigarms]

Sorry for you loss. Been there in your situation.

I'd find a decent estate lawyer local, see who you like, and go with them.

End of the day, it sounds by what you've said with your brother, you want to ensure all your bases are covered per the state of Texas.

My father was the executor of his families home after his brother passed and his sister went into a nursing home, and there were unpaid taxes and no written will. Major PITA for my father, and one particular sister of his disowned him because she didn't get the house.

I would just want to ensure that if your parents inherit the land, it's all "legal" so nothing bites you 10 years down the road.

 

[MossRoad]

Believe it or not but there are scumbags who read the obituaries and will drive by to scope out the place to see if anyone is around. My Father in Law passed in TX. Wife's sister lives next door. We caught a scumbag looking through his window the day his obit was published. Made up some excuse and left.

When I was a kid back in the 60's and early 70's, it was common knowledge that your home was a good target for burglary during funeral services because the service times were posted in the obit in the paper. I recall going with my mom to house-sit several times while families were at funerals. We'd just sit there and watch TV while my mom would cook something for them.

 

[kenmbz]

Sorry for your loss Eddie, you did a great job on the Obit.

 

[tradosaurus]

Funerals are like weddings. A lot of people profiting off of a situation (lawyers, funeral homes).

 

[Snobdds]

My condolences.

I would seek the advice of a good estate attorney.

Also, pay every outstanding tax and bring them up to date. Otherwise nothing is really owned.

 

[Rustyiron]

Sorry Eddie.
I bet that working through this new "job" will be the time that's required to slowly heal or at least get used to what's happened and more importantly give you some different insight and closeness with Todd.
Through this post, I'd say that your doing your brother "a solid" and will be fine.

 

[Richard]

I've not read everything so if this is redundant, my apologies.

If I were you, I'd try to get my hands on a PRIOR year tax return. That can be a treasure trove of info.

If he's got an investment account, bank account, he might have received a year ending valuation of said account. May be nothing there but if there is, you'll see who the entity is, account number, maybe balance... always a good place to start when needing to sleuth.

 

[JamesHW]

My condolences as well. Lost a younger sister to an auto accident and extended hospitalization/coma and know how hard these types of decisions are. She was married, so other than the massive medical bills there were not a lot of estate questions to worry about. I handled my mom’s estate and we had done a lot of planning for it including getting us added to the farms deed 7 years before she passed when we took over the property taxes and maintenance costs. That said, we hired a lawyer to advise us rather than handle everything Which ended up just being a few hours of charges. I handled all the paper work and leg work which kept the legal fees low. The recorder of deeds for the county (MD in this case) was a lot of help as well with advice. With a remote property I would consider setting up some wireless cams (assuming he had internet at the property) to help keep an eye on things including a camera inside the house to monitor any intrusion. Just my 2¢.

 

[tradosaurus]

My condolences as well. Lost a younger sister to an auto accident and extended hospitalization/coma and know how hard these types of decisions are. She was married, so other than the massive medical bills there were not a lot of estate questions to worry about. I handled my mom’s estate and we had done a lot of planning for it including getting us added to the farms deed 7 years before she passed when we took over the property taxes and maintenance costs. That said, we hired a lawyer to advise us rather than handle everything Which ended up just being a few hours of charges. I handled all the paper work and leg work which kept the legal fees low. The recorder of deeds for the county (MD in this case) was a lot of help as well with advice. With a remote property I would consider setting up some wireless cams (assuming he had internet at the property) to help keep an eye on things including a camera inside the house to monitor any intrusion. Just my 2¢.

Eddie stated that

I have the safe here at my place, along with most of his valuable stuff that's easy to walk away with.

And it sounded like the house needs to be demolished so probably nothing to worry about as far as thieves are concerned. Hopefully a neighbor can look in on the place periodically.

 

[2manyrocks]

If there is wifi at the house, I also would recommend a remote camera. They are inexpensive and you will be able to check it on your phone whenever you want to check on things. There is also motion detection and night vision.

 

[EddieWalker]

I thought about putting out a game camera, but I think I'm OK for now. The house is empty and everything of obvious value is out of his shop. I'm transitioning from getting his valuables, do cleaning up his mess. The last couple of years, I don't think he cleaned up anything. Empty feed sacks, beer cans, and piles of dirt dobber's are everywhere.

He owed on the land, so I'm going to talk to his bank and see if they will transfer, or allow me to take out a loan on it. For now, we just want to keep his cattle there for the winter while I'm building the fence for them here. That has become my new priority at my place. Once they are here, I'm leaning towards mowing his place, and maybe turning it into a hay farm until it's worthwhile selling it.

We're waiting on the Death Certificates. I have a few names of lawyers, but haven't spoken to any until I get the Certificates. We ordered 20 of them. The Funeral Home said that they could provide more if we need them at the same cost.

I'm still trying to find a home for his 300 ducks. The hunting clubs want them delivered, but I'm not going to do that. A few people have expressed interest in getting a few, but nobody is showing up. I might try Craigslist, but I think that will be a waste of time. I have plenty of feed, but his watering system isnt working very well and I don't want to put the time into redoing it. I want to tear it all down.

Same with the house. It should never of been lived in. Once everything else is done, I'll rent a backhoe and tear it down. I think renting one there will be easier then trying to find a way to haul mine 60 miles.

There are only three neighbors on his road, and a church. So far, I've met all his neighbors and some of the church people. Todd had a way of showing up when you needed help. They never asked him, he just saw that they needed the help. Tree removal, stuck in the mud, loading hay type of things. Before they knew he had died, one of his neighbors mowed his place because he didn't want it to look bad, but didn't know where Todd was.