Estate legal question

[Iggy]

For any probate or estate lawyers that might be on the forum. My husband's mother (ES) passed in Feb of 2008, leaving no will. My husband, her eldest son, (RS) was appointed as Executor to her estate with no restrictions.

ES's residence was in Arizona. Probate closed w/all monies to be divided equally among her heirs: RS, FS & JS. Once all the medical bills, etc. were paid, the balance of the insurance monies were divided among the three sons.

In April 2013 it is discovered that she still has the gas, oil and mineral rights to property she sold in Lemoore CA back in the 60's. A leasing company wants to lease the gas, oil and minerals and is requesting copies of her death certificate, court order of Executorship and notarized statement of the living heirs.

RS's question is: Am I still the executor of the closed probate estate? If so, then can't I just do everything, collect the lease money and distribute it equally among my brothers?

The youngest heir, JS, is in and out of jail in Arizona, and his address' are unknown. Not only is he a convicted felon he is also a drug addict. It is nearly impossible to find him, let alone to get him to sign papers. He never showed up for the Executor court hearing back in 2006! Another chink is that he is somewhere in Arizona and we are somewhere in Oregon.

The second eldest son lives in Missouri, and we live in Oregon. Getting a signature from FS is not a problem.

The reason we are asking is the attorney that handled everything in Arizona has passed away, and no one has taken his clients.

[annewandering]

Let the gas company find them. They want to lease and came to you not the other way around. I am not a lawyer but I would not do their work for them.

[skippy740]

The gas company is using whatever records they have of the estate to determine who to talk to. Since 'RS' is the executor, the gas company is doing what they can, legally.

I hope JS has a restricted beneficiary agreement, (or is disinherited) so he doesn't kill himself with all the financial assets of the estate.

I have no other ideas to offer, nor am I an attorney. Like you, I would hope it would be a simple matter.

In addition to talking to an attorney, you may want to talk to the CPA who helped you to file the estate tax return as this asset may not have been included. You'll need an estimate of your cost basis and current value to determine capital gains as well as any additional estate tax liability (depending on the size of the holding, of course).

I'm sorry, but you need professional help. :)

[Just_A_Guy]

I am not licensed in Arizona, but procedurally I would guess it should be possible to re-open probate to divide out additional assets and address the problem of any AWOL beneficiaries. Some states - not sure if Arizona is one of them - will let you do a "small estate affidavit" if the cumulative estate value is below a certain threshold, which would give the executor much more of a free hand to act independently of court supervision.

But Skippy is dead on - you need a local lawyer to dive into this.

[Iggy]

We just found out that JS got caught transporting marijuana across the Arizona/Mexico boarder. He is in jail waiting to be taken to the federal prison. At least he plead guilty and didn't cost the taxpayers with a trial.

I know I am going to really get in trouble for this- but I wish he had gotten caught on the Mexico side of the boarder.

[applepansy]

We just found out that JS got caught transporting marijuana across the Arizona/Mexico boarder. He is in jail waiting to be taken to the federal prison. At least he plead guilty and didn't cost the taxpayers with a trial.

I know I am going to really get in trouble for this- but I wish he had gotten caught on the Mexico side of the boarder.

I'm so sorry. Once through probate is stressful enough. I hope things go smoothly and that you're able to find a good attorney in AZ.

I also hope your BIL will wake up and clean up his life. Prison can help sometimes if the person is willing to change.

I'm helping my cousin's daughter go through the process of getting guardianship of her mother and probate since her Dad died a month or so ago. Its been very stressful. I'm thankful we were able to find her a good attorney.

[Iggy]

I'm so sorry. Once through probate is stressful enough. I hope things go smoothly and that you're able to find a good attorney in AZ.

What was stressful was the medical bills that kept showing up. Mom was *visiting* second son in Missouri. DIL was driving her home from having a Mani-Pedi. The car hit one big patch of black ice, spun around like a top going down a gradual incline and slammed against a light pole. SIL had bruised ribs, forearms and forehead. Mom died one hour after arriving in the ER of the local hospital. She never regained consciousness. Mom was in the later stages of Alzheimer's. Her health otherwise was good. Her Dr had told us that her brain would shut down long before the rest of her body wore out. She was 86 when she passed.

The hospital kept sending bills. Medicare paid some and rejected quite a few. We rejected the last 6. The date on them were 7 days to 4 weeks after she had passed away.

Applepansy, don't be sorry. One of Mom's most favorite things was road trips. Put her in a car, and drive for at least an hour in any direction and she was happy. Before her Alzheimer's, she would hop in the car and spend the weekend on the road with one or more of her grandchildren, or by herself. We were more concerned about SIL - her injuries were very minor considering the damage done to the car - it is her emotional and mental health we are still concerned about. No way do we hold her responsible. Not even for a micro-second.

I also hope your BIL will wake up and clean up his life. Prison can help sometimes if the person is willing to change.

BIL is 55 years old. He has been on drugs since he started smoking pot at 13.

Their father's *drug* of choice was alcohol. He died as a result of alcohol. BIL has a rap sheet that could wallpaper a 15' X 20' x 12' high room. He generally only spent a few months in the county jail. Then when his Mother passed he was nearly done with a one year sentence.

Second brother will have nothing to do with him after seeing what he put their mother through. THAT is a story that would take months to tell! Suffice it to say, he needed to go to prison for that and never get out. He will pay for it, in the eternities. He will also pay for what he did to his own minor daughters.

Husband is the eldest, he is 15 years older than the brother in prison. Oh, BTW BIL did get caught in Mexico. They turned him over to the American Boarder Patrol. Had he been further into Mexico, they would have kept him there in prison.

I'm helping my cousin's daughter go through the process of getting guardianship of her mother and probate since her Dad died a month or so ago. Its been very stressful. I'm thankful we were able to find her a good attorney.

The attorney Husband used was an old friend of Mom's. When we got the first phone call from the Leasing Company, Husband called him. That is when we found out he had passed.

His secretary kept the phone he originally paid for. She worked out of her home as his secretary because he spent so much time on the road and she had babies to raise. She started as his secretary when she was a 25 year old unwed mother of one. She married, had 4 more children and is now in her 60's.

Hubby doesn't know if he can endure more legal stuff. We have baby brothers inmate number and the address of the prison. He feels that there just won't be all that much money coming from the lease - so why bother with an attorney. Mom had 20 acres that she sold, retaining the gas, oil and mineral rights. This leasing company says that they want to lease it for the gas. I am seeing $ signs- I think Hubby needs to have an attorney word the agreement to the Estates advantage. Mom actually sold for a pittance - - and now this company is intimating that the lease is only worth 480.00 + $ a year. I say rent on a house is triple that a MONTH! They are taking natural gas out and only want to pay that much a YEAR.

So, yeah - need to get an attorney who knows his/her stuff.

Skippy and JAG thanks for your comments. I totally agree that we need to get an attorney. Probably one who is licensed in both Arizona and California.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Iggy
Spelling - of course

[dahlia]

Iggy - I am a lawyer. I also used to handle trusts and estates. My advice - get a lawyer. : ) Get one who is familiar with probate law, especially if the estate needs to be reopened to hand the licenses, etc. Unless wills and gas rights go hand in hand where you live, your probate attorney may need to work with someone who is familiar with those issues.

Estate work varies from place to place. You need an estate attorney; not just some Joe Blow lawyer in the phone book. The local bar can give you a few names to start with, since your previous attorney has passed away.