Posted: 12/28/2009 12:09:26 PM EDT
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I'm going to try to keep it pretty short and simple but i'm hoping somebody can give me some options / point me in the right direction.
My mother passed away in mach of 2008, and left a small amount of money (about 750 bucks) and a vehicle (worth maybe 1k at most). There was no will of any kind. I am trying to do two things, I want to sell the vehicle to a buyer who is interested, and I want to get the money out of the account and have it completely shut down / closed. I spoke to the credit union who told me I need either Letters of Independent Administration, or an Affidavit of heirship. After doing some research, it seems like affidavit of Heirship is the best route to handle both of these issues from what I can tell, but i'm curiuos if anybody can tell me if I'm understanding the process. I fill out the form (the affidavit of heirship) and bring it to the court, they notarize it and put it into the deed of records and that's it? Or is there more to it, I know the attorney's I spoke with originally last year when I thought I needed Letters Testimintary (SP?) said the cost was 2k+ and I'm looking for other options. Can anybody tell me if this is the best way, if i'm doing it right, and if there's a better option? |
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Most states have a do-it-yourself mechanism in place for people with small estates, so you don't have to hire lawyers and spend more than the estate is worth.
Google your county's superior court website. Look for probate forms –– do it yourself, or self-service, or words like that. The affidavit you are looking for will be available online for free. An affidavit is a sworn statement. You swear under oath (to a notary public, or maybe some court clerk –– read the form): "I swear that - my mother died and I don't have her locked in the closet while I steal her money. - she had a will leaving this car/bank account to me, or that she didn't have a will but I would be entitled to get it under the laws of intestacy (that is, I don't have any brothers or sisters around that I'm supposed to share with). - her estate is small (less than what the state law defines as small)." The bank or DMV takes the affidavit and puts it in their file. That's their protection in case somebody shows up later and says "He was lying. She wasn't dead/it was a big estate/he wasn't entitled to the property like he claimed." They hand over the goods. Done. |
| Google surrogate court or probate court for your county and see what comes up. Go in person to whatever court it is called and politely speak with the court clerk. They should be able to point you in the right direction. Most states have small estate administration provisions that wont cost you more than a couple of hundred bucks total and wont require an attorney. If your Mom died w/o a will you may need to get notarized letters from anyone else who would be in line to "take" under the laws of intestacy (dieing w/o a will). Should only be any of your siblings or your Mom's spouse if she had one at the time of her death. |
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you need to speak w/ the credit union and see exactly what they want. generally what they look for is a statement indicating the account holder is deceased and who are the heirs. have the all heirs state that they are the only surviving heirs and sign off in front of a notary. this should be enough to satisfy the credit union.
i'm not sure what you mean when you say put the affidavit into the "deed of records". you can have the document notarized by any notary, banks usually offer this service. since there was no real estate, as long as all the heirs are working together, there shouldn't be a need to probate it (e.g., get letters testamentary). |
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I went thru this a couple years ago with my dad's estate....
you need a determination of hiership (ie, direct lineal descendant, per sturpes.. etc.. whatever Texas is calling it this week) and a certificate of death... then just cart those papers to DMV and transfer the vehicle. |