Paint Rock, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If you were not married to him - and if he did not leave a will naming you, chances are you will not be entitled to receive anything from his estate. Michigan does not recognize "common law" marriages - so you are just a "friend" and without a will, you get nothing.

Since a Power of Attorney is only valid while she is alive, there is nothing you can do now to be placed on her Power of Attorney. That document has no validity upon her death.

As far as what percentage of the estate you can expect to receive, that will depend on whether there is a will or not. If there is a will, then you will receive whatever is provided for you in the Will. If there is no will, then your inheritance will be determined by the default Missouri laws, which can be found in the Missouri statutes at section 474.010. Essentially this law provides that the spouse gets everything if there are no kids; if there are kids and a surviving spouse, then the spouse and kids share (though the spouse is entitled to claim some extra property, such as the marital house/car/household items, etc.); if there is no surviving spouse, then the kids split everything equally; if there are no surviving kids and no surviving spouse, then the parents and brothers and sisters split everything equally; and so on. For your other question, your duties as Personal Representative of an Estate in Missouri are numerous. Your attorney should be able to provide you with a list of duties, and if you contact your local probate court, they may have a list of duties they can provide you as well. When a new estate is opened and one of my clients is appointed as the personal representative, I usually send them a letter with the following checklist of things they need to make sure they look into: 1. Obtain the original will, with all codicils and written statements or lists disposing of tangible personal property in accordance with ? 474.333, RSMo., and provide the original will, codicils and written statement or lists to me; 2. Obtain all of the decedent?s deeds, titles for vehicles, bank and financial institution statements, and other evidence of title to assets owned by the decedent, and provide the information to me; 3. Forward mail delivery from the deceased person?s address to your address; 4. Identify the estate assets and their location; 5. Safeguard the assets, including the residence, and consider arrangements to continue utility services; 6. Inventory the decedent?s safe deposit box (it is advisable to have a disinterested witness with you at the time); 7. Confirm that the real estate and tangible personal property are adequately insured and that successors in interest are protected; 8. Collect and cancel any credit cards, charge accounts, magazine subscriptions, etc., stop automatic withdrawals if appropriate, and request final statements and refunds; 9. Prepare insurance claim forms for life, health, and accident insurance and collect the proceeds, making copies of policies for estate tax use before mailing. 10. Caution all beneficiaries against payment of the debts of the deceased from their own funds; 11. Terminate any leases and utility services, if appropriate, in connection with rentals, and/or instruct tenants to direct payment to you. 12. Notify any attorney-in-fact who was given a power of attorney of decedent?s death; 13. Obtain valuation letters from the banks or other financial institutions where estate assets are held, and facilitate any appraisal of estate assets that may be needed; 14. Obtain tax advice from a certified public accountant and apply for employee identification number for estate?Treasury Department Form SS4; 15. Open an estate bank account in the name of the personal representative (clearly identifying yourself as personal representative) and transfer bank accounts of the decedent to estate accounts, and deposit all estate funds in estate account and pay all obligations by check from that account (*Keep all personal funds separate from the estate account and estate assets*); 16. Determine if you have any claim for reimbursement or any other claim against the estate, which may or may not require appointment of administrator *ad