Do you have a will? I now will need one in PA

[anykey]

Once my 60 days is up- I then will have assets that require a will. In PA- if you die with out a will-- the state takes all your assets. I will have a house, car, small savings, and household stuff- that I want to leave my family.


I would like to do the will process myself. I wonder what the county fees are and if anyone has a link.

It is good news that the 7- will then provoke me into needing a will!

[AngelinaCatHub]

Greetings "anykey". I have not been posting of late, but your question interests me: Chapter 7 is a liquidation except for what the law requires and exempts. That leaves (in theory) no assets. Since I have not been following you, no assets means no will necessarily needed but still advised. Were you correct in listing all of your assets? If not, the Court still can come back onto you with an AP and turn your discharge over. A case of perjury could be drawn as well. We became an asset case due to our apparent ignorance but we know the right stuff now.

Be very careful now and if all was correct in your paperwork there is no reason that you cannot draw up your own will. Go by your States models which can be found online. Have it witnessed and Notarized. If there is anything that could damage your discharge, best to let the Court know now and to either "pay through" or give to the Court for liquidation if there is disposable value in the items. Due to the mistakes we made, our BK lasted three years, but we were fortunate to have a kind Trustee, and paid the estate back to the Trustee. Wish you well. 'Hub

[anykey]

No. I did not lie.

One is allowed a house and car up to so much in equity per federal exemptions.

[anykey]

This process is going to give me a heart attack. Prior to this- the judgements and debt would have wiped out the 10k equity in the house and the 3k in the car. So I did not bother. The state takes everything if there is no will- I guess they think next of kin will kill others....

Chapter 7 allows some exemptions.

[LadyInTheRed]

In PA- if you die with out a will-- the state takes all your assets.

That's not true. If you don't leave a will, State law determines which family members get your property. Your property escheats to the state only if you have no relatives that can be found. Here's a summary of PA intestacy law. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...nsylvania.html

Everybody should still have a will.

[anykey]

Thanks the is helpful

[AngelinaCatHub]

No. I did not lie.

One is allowed a house and car up to so much in equity per federal exemptions.

My friend, I did not intend to offend you. If any BK should have been dismissed, it should have been ours for the lack of knowledge and mistakes we made. We were forced into BK by a serial law suit that lasted ten years. We escaped only due to a time limitation. We once were worth 10 mil in land and cash. The land was donated to the State as a park (with a life estate) and the money went to five lawyers. My BK lawyer was worse than none, believe me. So we had to liquidate or buy back our estate. My credit score was 820 at the time we got ruined by a third job failure and expenses that my enemy cost us.

We learned a lot from this situation and find ourselves happier now than we would have been. Seeing both sides of the coin makes one aware of what really matters in life. It is not big bucks. It is peace of mind. We have no bills except utilities, all is paid for but aging and we have not asked for credit since our discharge. I wish you well. 'Hub

[anykey]

I was briefly offended- but I realize that you are just looking out for me.

I appreciate that. :-)

[tobee43]

hey hub!!! soooo nice to see you!!

lady is so correct. in most states when one dies with no will; which is refereed to as intestate, and has no living relative; any assets will be sold and the money given to the state. assets are everything you own whether tangible or intangible, that has financial value and can be used for the payment of its owner's debts. there are different types of assets such as an accrued asset. which is for example revenue that may be income from someone that owes you money for services or otherwise.

everyone should have a will and have an atty record it, just so it's done correctly. just my three cents

[LadyInTheRed]

everyone should have a will and have an atty record it, just so it's done correctly. just my three cents

And I will add my three cents.

Do you mean record the will with the county? I've never heard of that and I work in estate planning. It could be different in others states, but I know that you would not record your will in California. You do lodge the will with the court after a person dies, but there is no reason in California for a Will to become public record until after the person dies. Most people would prefer their will be private while they are still living. Recording a will would make it public record which. It also would mean you would have to record the codicil or new will every time you want to change your will. I would be surprised if many states required you to record your will while you are living.

An attorney often isn't necessary to make a Will, especially when you don't have significant assets. Many states have statutory Will forms that can be download with instructions on how to have the will witnessed or notarized to comply with the state's laws. Even if your state doesn't have a statutory form, there is lots of help available to do it yourself. Nolo usually a good source for do it yourself legal procedures: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...ill-31750.html

[tobee43]

lady, yes, here it needs to be recorded by the estate atty. too funny i'm working between fl and ca and it's like night and day! it's safe to say check with the state laws in your state why what which applies. in calif for example a quit claim deed requires one signature and the notary, while here in fl it's the naming party signature, two witnesses PLUS the notary. in calif it is so different than here.

i think on some of these i'm going PMs YOU! LOL!! and you can figure them out.

[LadyInTheRed]

lady, yes, here it needs to be recorded by the estate atty.

This was surprising to me, so I did some research. I read sevaral articles regarding the requirements of a Florida will, including articles on the websites of several attornies and the Florida State Bar website. I also looked through the relevant Florida law: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statute...tle42/#Title42. Nowhere can I find any requirement that a Florida will be recorded with an attorney or anybody else. Only a requirement that a will be filed with the court after the testator's death. I don't mean to be argumentative, but I also don't want people to get incorrect information. Can you cite the law that requires a Florida will to be recorded with an attorney? Can you point to any sources that says it is required?

[AngelinaCat]

'Hub and I badly need to update our Wills, but at no time did our Estate Attorney, when we did our main Estate Planning in 2001, mention that he would record them. He has copies in his office, and we have copies at home.

Now, a sale of land to the State of Florida, our retention of a Life Estate, and a Charitable Remainder Uni-Trust were different matters. Those were recorded.

[LadyInTheRed]

Now, a sale of land to the State of Florida, our retention of a Life Estate, and a Charitable Remainder Uni-Trust were different matters. Those were recorded.

That makes sense because they all had to do with real property. If I remember correctly, you gave real estate to the CRUT and retained a life estate, right?

[AngelinaCat]

No, the money from the sale of the land went to the CRUT. We retained the 'life estate' when the property was sold to the State of Florida.

The CRUT is what we get a yearly stipend from.