After contacting the state for forms that apply to the probation of my dad's will, I am left once again remembering why I didn't become an attorney.

Backgroung: my father's will is clear and concise. The only confusing parts of it revolve around the establishment of a trust which is not relevant at this time because joint ownership of assets means my mom doesn't have to worry about inheritance taxes -- of this I'm pretty sure. So, the trust stuff is just noise as it is only intended to avoid taxes in the event that the assets had to go to my sister and me (not the case). So, my mom inherits my dad's estate. Simple. No muss, no fuss.

That said, the forms I have from the probate court are quite confusing. The first (and perhaps only) form we have to fill out is called the "probate of Will With/Without Sureties"

First question: What is a surety? And what does "exempt from giving surety on his/her/their bond(s)" mean?

Second question: What "bond" are they talking about?

Third question: "and wherein the testat___" <- this is supposed to be filled in like "execut___" ("rix" or "or"), depending on context. What's a testat???

Oooooooooookay... So, there's another form called "Information and Rights of Interested Parties" This one, I *think*, is intended to provide a way for probate court to allow people to contest a will? I really don't know. That's totally inconceivable in our case. This form talks about "fiduciaries" and "bonds" and filing an inventory of assets... Is this necessary?

There's another form involving the bond thing. It mentions surety again and talks about a penal sum. I have no idea what this is.

Finally, there's something called a "Military Affidavit" and from the legalese I cannot figure out for the life of me what this form aims to determine... Yes, my dad was a vet. The form seems to be trying to figure out if my dad is in active military service...? Honestly, I don't know.

Any thoughts are welcome. I will probably consult my attorney about this stuff, but I really didn't think it should be necessary.

 

Chaz,

It is in your interest to consult with your attorney and/or CPA. This is especially true if the estate is worth a considerable amount of money. I'm not even sure that you are right about the trust.

See your attorney and/or CPA. Its worth the money.

 

Probably will, Rob. Probably will. Unfortunately, my dad didn't really want us to, and really this should be simple. Also, I'm kind of a hands-on guy when it comes to taxes, etc., since I really like to know what I'm doing. Dad, being an accountant, passed that on to me.

 

Hey Chaz,

Maybe Bill can shed some light on it. Too bad they don't speak plain English on those forms.

 

Yeah, it's a system that feeds on itself. It shouldn't be necessary to be a lawyer in order to deal with a court -- especially family/probate court. But there you go, Lainey. An imperfect world.

 

Unfortunately thats the way things are. It shouldn't be necessary for the average person to have an accountant or tax service do his/her taxes either. There is something wrong with the concept of having to pay someone to help you pay the government (and this is coming from a CPA). But things have gotten so complicated that today it has become necessary. Both in terms of taxes and in terms of estates.

Like it or don't, today things have become so complicated in all fields that the best you can do for yourself is to call for help in fields other than your own.

 

I disagree: It is a "Perfect World" if one is a Lawyer or a politician. We unfortunately keep electing lawyers to public office and they write laws that require a lawyer.

Chaz,

I am sorry to hear that you are going through this. I am NOT looking forward to when my turn comes, as I am the executer for my Mother.

 

Thanks for the thoughts, guys.

Matt, I don't know about the condition that the laws themselves are in, but these forms I'm looking at (to "petition" the probate court) are like something out of Chaucer. Check this out; this is on the primary form for doing probate:

"... That said deceased left a will -- and codicil(s) -- herewith presented, wherein your petitioner(s) is/are named execut___ and wherein the testat___ had requested that your petitioner(s) be exempt from giving surety on his/her/their bond(s)."

^ that's not a joke, folks. In the vernacular of the web, WTF?!?!

Matt, for what it's worth, my mom is the executrix of my dad's will. We're just working together to try to get this cleared up. I too will dread doing this myself someday -- thankfully, mom is in good health and taking care of herself (and not scheduled for any surgeries!!)

 

Charlie, every state has its own laws in place regarding the probate of an estate so you really need answers from a Massachusetts member. A surety is a guarantee of performance and most of the time when a family member is performing as the executor of a will, a provision is made in the will that a surety is not required (which is about the same thing as saying you would not have to post a bond). The testator is the person who did the will (if he is male) and a testatrix is the female version of the same word. It would serve you well to contact someone in legal practice to protect yourself particularly if you have siblings who may not agree with how you and/or your mother "divvy" up the estate. I worked as a paralegal at a local college for many years before I retired and we often dealt with matters of estates since many folks endowed the school with all or some of their belongings. I know enough to know that (a) people should always have a will and (b) people realllllllly need legal advice to deal with estate matters. If you choose not to engage the services of an attorney for the probate, then it would be worth the few hundred dollars (which you can deduct from the estate) to at least consult with an attorney for about an hour to get all your questions answered. Also, I always found the Court Clerks to be quite helpful in answering questions and assisting in the completion of the required forms. This may not be very helpful, but matters of estates can be quite complicated no matter the size of the estate and your mother's property holdings really need to be cared for.

Oh, and a codicil means your dad went back and amended or added to his will in some form and instead of redoing the entire thing, just did a codicil (in our terms: addendum).

 

Oh, and one more thing. The legal system uses a lot of archaic terminology and old English/Latin terms, but as we all know, the wheels of justice/law move slowly, so these things will change very, very slowly. I wouldn't hire a woodcarver despite his skill with cutting tools to do even minor surgery on my body. By the same token a good lawyer is worth far more than his fee. Law is very specialized just like auto mechanics or computer technology. It is always good to hire an expert. You can always get yourself a Black's Dictionary of legal terms and look things up if you like, but how things are interpreted are an entirely different story.