nj lawyer guys general estate debt question (1 Viewer)

[belljr]

So my mil passed away. She was living on a tiny pension and ss. She rented section 8 housing, has zero savings, her car is worth about 500 bucks and she has some old furniture that is not worth anything.

it's my understanding that her children are not on the hook for any debt but the companies could try to claim through the estate. Can we just sell the furniture and give the car away?

I still need to look into what her pension was to see if she had any beneficiaries. And if it was 50% j&s etc.

just want to know if we have to worry about this.

Tia

 

[Bucky86]

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure no lawyer is going to give any advice other than to contact someone that practices law in NJ.

 

[belljr]

Not sure I really need to contact a lawyer atm if ever based on teh google

 

[spOOfy]

who is executor of her estate?

 

[belljr]

She had no will or money

 

[The Big Guy]

I highly doubt that there is a will to be probated and I wouldn't spend the money to do it even if there was one. I might consider selling the car to help pay the debts, but otherwise a copy of the death certificate and a letter stating she passed away destitute should suffice for most. I would call the debtors and inform them of her passing and her status to see how they react.

 

[sbonomo]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

 

[belljr]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

 

[Juxtatarot]

Outside of the family, nobody will care if you sell the furniture. Selling or giving away the car is a bit of a problem. I don't know how NJ works but often you will have to fill out some type of small estate affidavit to transfer title. There is probably a FAQ on this on the NJ DMV website.

 

[belljr]

Outside of the family, nobody will care if you sell the furniture. Selling or giving away the car is a bit of a problem. I don't know how NJ works but often you will have to fill out some type of small estate affidavit to transfer title. There is probably a FAQ on this on the NJ DMV website.

Yep I already checked with the DMV website. I think I know what to do for that. I just don't want to give it to my niece and then her get crap.

Thanks so far

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Pm me as much detail as possible and I'll give you the best advice I can without making you a client.

 

[belljr]

pm sent TIA!!!

 

[McGarnicle]

Damn, I'd be at Best Buy with those credit cards ASAP.

 

[sbonomo]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

 

[Ned]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

I'm curious what Yankee23 is advising, but I certainly wouldn't be doing the bolded until I knew NJ's probate and/or small estate laws.

 

[The Big Guy]

Bump for generic advise listing. Since I work in a bank, i come across estate situations all of the time and I would love some general helpful info.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

I'm curious what Yankee23 is advising, but I certainly wouldn't be doing the bolded until I knew NJ's probate and/or small estate laws.

And I would never tell someone to ignore anything from a legal point of view. And credit card debt is not instantly written off and cancelled when someone dies. It depends on a few factors. Also, very generally speaking, New Jersey has a pretty simple probate process that is unlike many other states. If someone passes away owning nothing maybe you get away with never doing anything about it from a probate standpoint. But someone owns property or a car then you must go through the probate process here or you can't transfer the ownership of that property as no one has the authority to execute the title documents for the transfer. Generally speaking. Even in the most simple estate from a logic standpoint, there are always fact sensitive issues that need to be addressed.

 

[Ned]

Wow that sucks that everyone has to probate. What a PIA.

 

[sbonomo]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

I'm curious what Yankee23 is advising, but I certainly wouldn't be doing the bolded until I knew NJ's probate and/or small estate laws.

And I would never tell someone to ignore anything from a legal point of view. And credit card debt is not instantly written off and cancelled when someone dies. It depends on a few factors. Also, very generally speaking, New Jersey has a pretty simple probate process that is unlike many other states. If someone passes away owning nothing maybe you get away with never doing anything about it from a probate standpoint. But someone owns property or a car then you must go through the probate process here or you can't transfer the ownership of that property as no one has the authority to execute the title documents for the transfer. Generally speaking. Even in the most simple estate from a logic standpoint, there are always fact sensitive issues that need to be addressed.

Spoken like a true attorney. Honestly, probate attorney's are $500+ per hour. Generally speaking, from a lenders perspective, if the amount owed is below a minimum threshold it really does not make sense to spend the money to try and collect specifically in situations such as this. Best advice, call the CC and ask. It won't cost you anthing in legal fees. If it is a big bank, we are so aftraid of reputational risk that you will probably be able to work it out fairly easily. Or spend a few thousand in legal fees and have them do the same thing.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Wow that sucks that everyone has to probate. What a PIA.

I wasn't kidding when I said it is a simple process. The overwhelming majority of estates here aren't complicated and you don't really need an attorney to help you.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

I'm curious what Yankee23 is advising, but I certainly wouldn't be doing the bolded until I knew NJ's probate and/or small estate laws.

And I would never tell someone to ignore anything from a legal point of view. And credit card debt is not instantly written off and cancelled when someone dies. It depends on a few factors. Also, very generally speaking, New Jersey has a pretty simple probate process that is unlike many other states. If someone passes away owning nothing maybe you get away with never doing anything about it from a probate standpoint. But someone owns property or a car then you must go through the probate process here or you can't transfer the ownership of that property as no one has the authority to execute the title documents for the transfer. Generally speaking. Even in the most simple estate from a logic standpoint, there are always fact sensitive issues that need to be addressed.

Spoken like a true attorney. Honestly, probate attorney's are $500+ per hour. Generally speaking, from a lenders perspective, if the amount owed is below a minimum threshold it really does not make sense to spend the money to try and collect specifically in situations such as this. Best advice, call the CC and ask. It won't cost you anthing in legal fees. If it is a big bank, we are so aftraid of reputational risk that you will probably be able to work it out fairly easily. Or spend a few thousand in legal fees and have them do the same thing.

I take your first sentence as a compliment whether or not you intended it that way. Your second statement is factually wrong. The PR statements might be right. I don't know. I've had estate where a claim for $120 was filed. I've had estate where they just didn't bother filing a claim for a few thousand. It depends. Regardless, it is wise to call the bank obviously. It's also wise to go to the surrogate's office and sit down with a deputy. Hiring an attorney is optional and might not even be necessary. Depending on the facts.

 

[sbonomo]

That sucks. I always wonder how people put themself in that position. working for a large bank, i would second the poster above that you should not waste your time with probate. Simply let and creditor know that you MIL has passed and provide documentation if they request. Just out of curiosity was any of the debt secured (mortgage, car loan, etc) or just a few credit cards?

just a few ccand how is simple. She was a factory worker with hs education

i am sorry that question came across very poorly. No offense intended. Cc are very easy, it is unsecured debt that will be instantly written off. Send the cc companies a death certificate and never think about it again.

I'm curious what Yankee23 is advising, but I certainly wouldn't be doing the bolded until I knew NJ's probate and/or small estate laws.

And I would never tell someone to ignore anything from a legal point of view. And credit card debt is not instantly written off and cancelled when someone dies. It depends on a few factors. Also, very generally speaking, New Jersey has a pretty simple probate process that is unlike many other states. If someone passes away owning nothing maybe you get away with never doing anything about it from a probate standpoint. But someone owns property or a car then you must go through the probate process here or you can't transfer the ownership of that property as no one has the authority to execute the title documents for the transfer. Generally speaking. Even in the most simple estate from a logic standpoint, there are always fact sensitive issues that need to be addressed.

Spoken like a true attorney. Honestly, probate attorney's are $500+ per hour. Generally speaking, from a lenders perspective, if the amount owed is below a minimum threshold it really does not make sense to spend the money to try and collect specifically in situations such as this. Best advice, call the CC and ask. It won't cost you anthing in legal fees. If it is a big bank, we are so aftraid of reputational risk that you will probably be able to work it out fairly easily. Or spend a few thousand in legal fees and have them do the same thing.

I take your first sentence as a compliment whether or not you intended it that way. Your second statement is factually wrong. The PR statements might be right. I don't know. I've had estate where a claim for $120 was filed. I've had estate where they just didn't bother filing a claim for a few thousand. It depends. Regardless, it is wise to call the bank obviously. It's also wise to go to the surrogate's office and sit down with a deputy. Hiring an attorney is optional and might not even be necessary. Depending on the facts.

I am wondering how you think my second statement is "factually wrong", are you referring to cost of a probate attorney or thresholds for pursuing personal guarantee? If the latter, I work for a bank. If a claim is not material i typically write it off because it would cost more to pursue than I would get out of the claim? I guess i be more specific and say at my bank.