· Whether there is a will or a living trust
· The names (and account numbers) of the decedent’s banks and/or brokerage firms
· Whether the decedent had a safe deposit box
· Where the will and living trust documents are located

Here are some steps to take to help settle the estate after your loved one has died. If you are the executor, it will be your job to make sure that these matters are taken care of. Even if you are not the executor, you may want to take part in settling these affairs of estate:

· Locate and read the will.
· If you are not the executor of the estate, then contact the executor.
· Consider whether you need the help of an estate planning attorney to settle certain financial and personal affairs for your loved one.
· If there is a will, look into starting the probate process and make sure that the executor begins proceedings immediately.
· Account for your loved one’s assets—those that are listed in a will or trust and those that are not.
· Locate documents pertaining to your loved one’s assets, such as insurance policies, benefit information, retirement plans, etc.
· Notify the relevant government agencies, as well as banks, creditors, etc., of the death.
· File any life insurance claims.
· File the deceased’s last taxes.
· Open a checking account in the estate’s name.

In her civil lawsuit, Linda Schieble is seeking unspecified damages from Dr. Jaimy Bensimon and the Morse Geriatric Center staff in a civil lawsuit in which she cites breach of contract, negligence, and battery.

In a Florida courtroom earlier this week, Dr. Bruce Berman, a witness, testified that what happened to Neumann was “assault, plain and simple” when she was kept on life support for six days despite her wishes after she was found unresponsive on October 17, 1995. (Bensimon told paramedics to take her to the hospital where she was intubated and hooked up to life support machinery until she died.)

Berman also said that when reviewing the deceased woman’s files, he discovered that many of Bensimon’s actions did not adhere to the “generally accepted standard of care.” Berman also said that Bensimon should have asked Neumann (she suffered from Alzheimer’s and had a seizure disorder) to file a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order and he should not have ordered nurses to call 911 because of what Neumann had stipulated in her living will about her end of life care.

Division One was affirming an earlier ruling by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, who said that he didn’t have the authority to order the trustee to use trust funds to pay Richard Young’s restitution.

Richard Young sustained injuries in 1997 after being shot by his brother Steve at his mother’s house in Woodland Hills. Steve was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison plus 13 years. Richard then sued his brother for his injuries, obtaining a $1.275 million default judgment.

Lucille Young, their mother, had amended her testamentary trust to name Kathy Jayne McCoy as her successor trustee. She also asked that the trust be held for Steve Young for the rest of his life. The remaining assets would go to the Christian Science Foundation after his passing. Mrs. Young passed way in 2005.

Watson is the daughter of former IBM CEO, president, and chairman Thomas J. Watson, Jr., who passed away in 1993. Mr. Watson left two multimillion dollar trust funds to his grandchildren and now Spado, as his adopted granddaughter, wants her share. Mr. Watson was unaware of the adoption.

According to a Connecticut judge, Watson’s share is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Gay rights activists say that this case is the perfect example of how blocking same-sex marriage can lead to the misuse of other laws in order to allow couples to establish legal connections with one another.

The adoption was challenged by trustees of the two trusts in Maine, where the adoption took place. They said the adoption wad invalid because Spado did not live in Maine and because she and Olive Watson never meant to have a normal parent-child relationship. They won their claim, and Spado appealed the ruling.

Responsibilities of an Executor Include:
· Making funeral arrangements.
· Preparing a final tax return.
· Distributing assets to beneficiaries, as designated by a will or, if there is no will, by state law.
· Paying debts.
· Terminating leases and credit cards.
· Informing banks and government agencies of the death.
· Helping to resolve conflicts between surviving loved ones over the estate.
· Deciding whether or not probate proceedings are necessary.
· Filing a will—if there is one—in probate court.
· Establish an estate bank account.

Usually, when one parent dies the surviving parent assumes full custody of any children. If both parents die, however, or if the surviving parent is unable to be legally responsible for the children, a guardian will have to legally assume the role.

A guardian will be legally accountable for taking care of a child’s physical and emotional well-being until the child turns 18. This includes providing for the child’s education, shelter, food, clothing, and health care. This is a huge responsibility, so it is important to make sure that the person appointed wants to and is able to handle the responsibility. A person appointed in a will to be a child’s guardian is not legally obligated to take on the role. That is why it is a good idea to appoint an alternate guardian. Co-guardians may also be appointed to share the responsibility of guardianship.

If parents do not name a guardian, a probate court judge will have to appoint one for their children, and the parents would have had no say in the matter:

A probate guardian usually has a number of responsibilities- depending on the kind of guardianship they hold:

A recent news article in the Detroit News offers a number ideas of matters to consider when you are planning your estate (Remember, however, that each person’s estate is unique. It is important that you speak with an estate planning lawyer about the particulars of your estate so that he or she can advise you, as well as help you select the best estate planning tools for your needs):

- If you decide to make a will or trust, make sure that you name all of your beneficiaries and are clear about who gets which of your assets.
- Remember to appoint an executor or trustee to manage and distribute your assets after you are gone. It is important that you choose an executor or a trustee that you know you can trust and who is capable of doing the job.

Westmoreland is accused of stealing from her elderly victim and using his assets for her personal use. The victim was a nursing home resident who used to live in a trailer park belonging to Westmoreland. He signed a power of attorney document with the expectation that she would take care of him.

After he signed over his power of attorney, Westmoreland transferred $200,000 that belonged to him into her accounts. She understated the assets when she filed an application for Medicaid benefits for him, defrauding Florida’s Medicaid program of over $61,000.

Rosa Parks passed away on October 2005. She left nearly all of her assets to Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, a nonprofit organization that she founded in 1987 with Steele. The organization inspires young people to pursue an education. Steele, an institute officer, was granted power of attorney for Parks, the same year that Parks signed her will.

According to Parks’ nieces and nephews, they believe that Steele got Parks (who was suffering from dementia) to sign the will, which basically left them powerless to decide how their aunt’s likeness would be used. They were also cut off from receiving any profits earned from the licensing of her likeness and name. Her nieces and nephews say that placing their aunt’s image in the wrong hands could ruin her legacy. According to their attorneys, Steele has been unwilling to answer any questions about the estate or account for the institute’s activities.

While Parks’ estate is not necessary worth millions, the marketing rights to her image and likeness could be worth millions of dollars over the next several decades. Since she passed away, her likeness has already been used in Apple Computer and Chevrolet advertisements. Jury selection is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

MacLachlan grew up listening to the band practicing in a field located across from his house.

Beneficiaries:
A beneficiary is the individual or organization who a decedent leaves property to in his or her will. Anyone can be a beneficiary, except for the person who makes the will, any person who may have been responsible for the death of the deceased person, and any unincorporated group that is not able to receive or hold property. In some jurisdictions, anyone who acts as a witness to the will being signed becomes disqualified to be a beneficiary.

A person or organization that is a beneficiary may receive specific property items, such as money, houses, or jewelry, from the decedent’s estate. Someone may also be designated to receive anything that remains from an estate after the executor distributes the estate’s gifts to its beneficiaries and pays off the estates expenses and debts.

Amason was arrested last month at his church. He has been charged with three counts of embezzlement—a $91,258.67 total. Amason claims that the agency never interviewed him before he was arrested. He was released from jail on a $60,000 bond.

The pastor says that his aunt, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in an assisted living facility, had given him power of attorney, but that last year, she started accusing him of stealing her money. Another relative was then given power of attorney for his aunt.

When a person (known as the principal) bestows another person with the power of attorney, they are giving that person the authority to act as their agent, known as their attorney-in-fact. Depending on the type of power of attorney that is bestowed, an attorney-in-fact may be able to make decisions regarding the principal’s heath—known as the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care—or their finances, called the Durable Power of Attorney for Finances.

Although Hynie claims she was legally married to Brown, attorneys for Brown’s estate say that her marriage to Brown was not legally binding because she was married to someone else at the time of their wedding ceremony. Although she ended that marriage, she and Brown never remarried to legally formalize their commitment. Hynie and James Brown, Jr. were not named as beneficiaries in Brown’s will, which divides the Godfather of Soul’s personal possessions among his six older children.

Hynie is contesting the will, claiming that it is not valid because she was not included as a beneficiary. She is also contesting the validity of a trust set up by Brown, which holds the soul singer’s primary assets, such as his 60-acre home in South Carolina and his music rights.

James Brown passed away last year on Christmas Day in Atlanta, Georgia. His family is undecided as to where to bury him, and his body is in a gold casket at a private location.

In a separate petition, James Brown’s six older children would like a probate court to replace the trustees of Brown’s trust. They are accusing the trustees of mismanaging their father’s assets.

Beth claims that conservator Melodie Scott did not properly fulfill her fiduciary duties as her mother’s conservator. She is accusing Scott of nearly dissolving her mother’s savings, worth $239,000, within the first four years of managing Elizabeth Fairbanks’s estate, was faulty in her bookkeeping, and withheld medical care from Elizabeth when she fell out of bed in 2005 and when she died from pneumonia last year. Elizabeth, then 80, had been staying at Braswell’s Ivy Retreat in Mentone.

Wednesday’s hearing took place because at an October 13 hearing in San Bernardino last October, Beth had raised an objection to the final accounting made on her mother’s estate. She also refuses to believe that her mother ever agreed to the living will that Scott had signed in 2002, which stated that Elizabeth Fairbanks didn’t want any “heroic measures if death is imminent.”

Scott is denying the accusations.

By law, attorneys and conservators are paid from the conservatee’s estate, but only after a judge has approved the accounting. Court records show that when Scott began managing Elizabeth Fairbanks’s estate in 2002, the balance of her savings legitimately went down to $27,000. Also according to court records, Scott moved Elizabeth to different 24-hour care facilities in 2002 when her health improved for awhile. Scott also managed to reduce Elizabeth’s monthly expenses.

Last February, Dement had nearly $92,000 in her bank account. One month later, there was just a little over $1000 left. Her home and her two cars were also gone. She also says that the Tidwells stole her Sony television and her sofa.

A lawyer helped Dement get her cars and home back.

Power of Attorney:
A power of attorney is a legal document that bestows authority on the appointed person to act on behalf of the principal (the person bestowing the power of attorney). The person given the power of attorney is called the attorney-in-fact. A power of attorney lasts until the principal terminates the power of attorney, becomes incapacitated, or passes away.

During her lifetime, Jones had amassed over $560,000 in savings from working a number of blue-collar jobs. Four years ago, Melodie Scott, the head of CARE (Conservatorship and Resources for the Elderly, Inc.) filed emergency court papers and petitioned a California probate court with the request to become Jones’s conservator of her estate. The court awarded Scott control over Jones’s finances. Jones, then 82, was living alone, had trouble hearing, and needed help walking long distances and maintaining her home. But when she signed the one-paragraph document that had been given to her, she thought she had enrolled in a low-income utility plan. She hadn’t intended to appoint Scott as her conservator.