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My mom died in January. She has no will and only one family member me her daughter. The house is paid ofg and is in her name and so is her car. Due to her death and my greif I lost my job. I have no money to spend on an attorney. She had no insurance and was heavy in debit . I have no idea if there an agency that can help. Any suggestions?

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Yes you need to do a probate, because the debt holders will come after the house. See an attorney before you lose the house.
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Take a week or so and follow the advice here given, get the ball rolling and then go looking for a job. Unless mom had a large savings account that your name was on also, or a good bit of cash stashed under the mattress you're going to be needing money to get you through all this. JB0928 is correct, this process is a marathon and not a race.

You might also see if mom had anything of value you can sell online? On Ebay? If she owned a house, it should be full of stuff. Some of this stuff could be sold to help you hire a lawyer. If you had siblings, it would be different...but being her only heir, there's noone to dispute you. No one knows what all is there... big items like the house and car are a different story, but there's no record of that little Majolica Vase that's worth 50.00 to someone on Ebay, that your mom got as a gift years ago... Things like these can add up, believe me. They did for my dad when mom died. He made enough that he would have easily been able to hire a lawyer had he needed one.
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Can you sell her house and also they say a dead person has no debts my best friend husand die she didnt pay his bills because she was not going to pay for his bills she didnt make them they was only marriage for a year just let them know shes dead most company writes it off on their taxes good luck
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When my sister died without a will, we did need a lawyer to guide us through the process. Her estate was insufficient for probate, but there was a 40 day waiting period in California before we could legally do anything. But we went ahead and dealt with her stuff anyway. As the lawyer put it, "If you are all in agreement, who is there to object." Google legal aid—or look in the yellow pages—to see what is available in your area. You may be eligible for pro bono or reduced rate services.
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I'm going through this now for my mom who had no will. My mom name's was Betty. Contact the courthouse in the district your mom passed away in and let them know what's happened. Since there's a house involved you will likely need a bondsperson and the court can refer you to ones in the area. This is because her assets will be greater than $25K, at least here in VA that's how this works. The court probate clerk will give you the rundown of what you'll need to do which will be gaining executor/administrator authority. When you get approved, get at least 5-10 (or more) copies of the certifications because you'll need them to conduct business and close out her affairs (ie. banks, house sale, etc). Also, the bondsperson and court clerk gave me elder lawyers who can help and one of them is a non-profit who may advise you pro bono for a session. Because there is another family member involved they will want to know that as well. Preferably you two can work together on this because it is a painstakingly arduous process to go through alone. Anyway, there will be fees involved so get all that info and determine how you both can come up with the funds. You can call your local area on aging and social workers and ask for help. They may provide a list of local non profits and churches who can help too. Start there and take it a step at a time, it will truly be a marathon, not a sprint so be patient. Hang in there lady!
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Check with your local probate court - do it online first and read everything you can about probate. Some states have "do it yourself" probate programs where you just fill out the answers online, then go in to court to get whatever you need to get the job done. Once you have looked online at what your local probate court has to say about what needs to be done, many courts have "lawyers of the day" who can answer your questions. Call and find out, and when you get there, and because they are familiar with the laws, can make suggestions and even offer to represent you for a certain price, and take their fee out of the sale of the house. Doing nothing will likely cause you to lose any chance you have of getting things all sorted out. The person who said the debts don't need to be paid is WRONG. Debtors have a certain amount of days to put in their claims, once the probate is opened and they are notified and a publication is made of the pending probate. Do nothing, and the town will take the house for taxes and make things even more complicated. I helped my step-mom probate my dad's estate, and the court was very helpful. They had checklists, told us what we needed to do, we did it, and it was actually pretty easy. You will need authority to sell the house, and need to put it on the market. If you delay, the people owed money could put liens on it, making it more difficult to sell. Good luck!!
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In some states the state steps in when there is no will and they will take a percentage of the estate. In my sisters case, in Maryland, the state appointed a local lawyer to handle the estate. The state came in and told Mom what she should sell my sisters property for. All money collected went to the lawyer. He kept track and guided Mom thru the steps. Since the house was mortgaged and payments weren't made the bank foreclosed, same with her car. Moneys collected were used to pay debts. The insurance policy went to my nephew. State can't touch insurance policies they belong to the beneficiary. When all was said and done thats all my nephew got. The debts were larger than the money collected. I would contact ur office of the Aging even if ur not a senior your mother was. They may have someone who can guide you. Also, call ur probate office. When ur Mom diedthe funeral director should have given you the death certificates needed.
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Probate will eat into any profits from the sale of her house/car to pay off her debts. Perhaps you could fully explain to your company about your loss, and see if they will reconsider. I don't think a company can fire you for you having lost a parent (unless you didn't explain or just stayed home). Seek out a credit counseling business or an attorney who will take this case on contingency. First thing to do is get yourself employed so you can eat. I'm sorry for your loss.
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I'm sorry for your loss. Please dont do anything rash in your current mental state. This can all be worked out. Just take one step at a time. Get the debt holders notified as they come in. You will feel better as you take action. Do this while you are off work so you won't have to deal with it later. You might need to send a copy of her death certificate to the companies she owes money to. If you weren't confused before you posted this question, you are probably really confused now with such a variety of answers. What you do does depend on the state where your mom lived and where the property is located. In Texas ( I saw El Paso mentioned) I think you will need an Affidavit of Heirship. This is a document where a couple of people who knew your mother, sign an affidavit (before a notary of the public) affirming that they knew your mom for x number of years. (The longer the better) and that she was never married to anyone besides your dad and that she had no other children besides you. If she did have other children and they are deceased then that would be mentioned or if she was married another time and there were no children then that would be mentioned. Whatever the case was with your mom. The idea is to show that you are the only heir. Then this document is filed at the county clerks office and when you sell the property the title company can insure that the title to the property is clear. This passes the title of the property from your mom to you. While I agree that you aren't responsible for her debts, you will have to pay the taxes on the property or the county can take the property for unpaid taxes. There are investors who look for property where the taxes haven't been paid. They will pay the taxes and take your property. That would take awhile but you probably should check on the status of the taxes now. If mom had stopped paying bills, she might not have paid the taxes either. You can view the taxes online in many counties. Some people just leave the property in the deceased persons name until they want to sell it. If your intention is to sell it then the affidavit could be done at that time and the fees could be taken from your profit. Your realtor could advise you on this. Your mom probably had a reduced tax on the property because it was her homestead and I'm assuming she was over 65. Depending on your age, you can get that also. You can go to your county tax office and discuss this with them. Google affidavit of heirship for your state and read about it. Don't put this off too long as you might lose tract of your moms old acquaintances or they could pass. It's a simple document. Good luck on the job search.
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Betty. You must see a lawyer. Have you been living with your mother caring for her? How old are you? Perhaps your local agency for the aged can help. Or ...This directory online lists lawyers in each state for the poor.
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