Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Hampshire
My father passed away without a will. He did not have many assets - ira account, house co-owned with his exwife (my mother), a car. We do not know if he listed a beneficiary on the ira account. he did not have insurance so we have received bills for the hospital. This was his only debt. Do we need to go to probate court? Can the hospital take any assets he may have had? Should we consult an attorney? We'd like to make this as simple as possible.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'm sorry to hear of your loss. I wish there were a straight answer to your questions. However, many of them are, "it depends."
As to the IRA, you should contact the company holding the funds. They will know if there is a beneficiary named. The company can provide instructions on how to transfer the funds to a new IRA or take appropriate steps. As always, talk with your tax adivser before moving any of the funds. If there is no beneficiary, you will need to go through probate proceedings.
The hospital and funeral bills need to be paid from your father's assets. The creditors can make claims against any of his assets. I do think that meeting with an attorney to review all the assets and bills makes sense, especially since there is real estate involved and you have not mentions whether or not the house is held in "joint tenancy," which may have a significant impact on how the probate issues are addressed.
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