When a person dies, leaving real estate or personal property, it is the executor’s job to notify any heirs or beneficiaries. Must do this correctly and legally. The executor or successor trustee must notify all of the trust beneficiaries and heirs of the settler of the trust’s existence and of their right to receive a copy of the terms of the trust.
The heir, or any person including the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner. They would be entitled to inherit property if there is no will, must be notified shortly thereafter. The notice will inform the recipients that there is a time limit in which to contest the trust. This is usually 120 days, and it must be stated in 10 points bold type.
The trustee must make a good-faith effort to comply with the notice requirements. Otherwise, they could be held liable for damages, including any attorney’s fees and costs.
Read more: What happens if two people own estate property and only one wants to sell?
What happens if the notified heir has either passed away or cannot be reached?
When trying to reach a beneficiary, you may discover that that person has already passed away themselves or they are unable to be found.
If that person has passed away, you would need to contact their beneficiary, next of kin, or in succession. We recently had a person pass away and, in their will, named one of their nephews as a beneficiary. The problem is that the nephew never had any children of their own, never married, and never had a will. The inheritance moved sideways in succession to the nephew sibling. The only way that this wouldn’t work is if the will specifically state that the sibling was not allowed to receive any of the inheritance. If the inheritance cannot drop down in the heir’s beneficiary, it will go sideways to siblings if possible.
If there are no alternative beneficiaries named in the will, in this case, the property will either go to the residuary beneficiary named in the will, the primary beneficiary’s descendants, or the deceased person’s heirs under state law as if there were no will.
Must handle notices properly and legally. This is where getting a probate attorney is extremely important but, again, not mandatory. Each person must receive a copy of the will, an affidavit of the trustee’s death, and a notification by the trustee. Beneficiaries and 120 days on average to contest or accept the information stated in the will.
Life estates
To clear title to real property in which there was a life estate, trustees or executors will use an affidavit, death of a joint tenant, cross out the word joint, and replace it with the word “life.” This affidavit is recorded in the county recorder’s office in which the property is located, along with a copy of the death certificate.
Read more: How to Deal with Joint Tenancy?
For more information or answers to your questions on probate real estate, life estates, and questions regarding notifying heirs and beneficiaries, contact my office today.