Estate

Certain things do have to happen in a specific time frame, but that does not mean the overall process cannot drag on for years.

Dad has a Will. When mom passed away dad had a Deed drawn up on his house and properties and had all of us, me and my sibblings names on it. In the Will, he has that as long as he is alive he will live in the house and when he passes the house and property will be sold and the money to be split among his children. Now my one brother has decided that he wants to purchase the house and properties keep in mind my dad is still alive.
Dad made the comment the other day that if anything happens to him my brother could just live in the house as long as he wants to and there is
nothing anyone can do about it. He said he could do that without purchasing the place. I am not sure this is true because if dad passed away I think all of us would probably have to pay taxes on the place since he had it deeded to all of us. Has anyone experienced a situation
like this?

Is your fathers entire estate worth more than $2 million dollars?

That the exclusion in 2008, in 2009 the exclusion goes up to $3.5 million.

If the estate is worth less than that, no estate tax.

If it is over that amount, only the amount over the exclusion is taxable.

The individuals are not taxed on their portion of the inheritance.

When someone dies, the estate becomes a legal entity, and the taxes, if any come out of the estate.

Whatever is left is distributed, according to the terms of the will, to the beneficiaries.

If I were you I'd search the internet and study up on probate law.


Who is the executor of your fathers will?

It is up to that person to make sure the stipulations of the will are carried out.

If the will says the house is to be sold on his death, that is supposed to be what will happen.

Talk to a lawyer.

well, that too :wink:

There is something wrong here. If your dad had the deed redone and listed you all on it then you already own a part of the house. There would be no need to stipluate anything about it in the will. Beyond that there are no "as long as he's alive" provisions in a standard will. A will has no effect until the person has died. Maybe you are referring to a "living will"? That has different rules. So there's more to that than what you've mentioned but I'll let you sort that out.

One way or the other, as an heir, you'd have an interest in your father's estate. If/when he passes someone will be identified as an executor/executrix of his estate. They are the person who is responsible for having the probate process completed. If they fail to take action to move the probate process along or try to take personal advantage of the situation then you get your own lawyer and file a complaint with the probate court that has jurisdiction. The executor would then have to satisfy the court that they are doing everything necessary to complete the process.