Harry Gross: Good idea to hire a lawyer for this one
Dear Harry: My mother died many years ago and left her house to my sister and me. My aunt was the executor of the will. I lived in the house for a while with my sister and her three children, but the title to the house is still in my mother's name. Both m
Dear Harry:
My mother died many years ago and left her house to my sister and me. My aunt was the executor of the will. I lived in the house for a while with my sister and her three children, but the title to the house is still in my mother's name. Both my aunt and my sister have since died. My sister's children lived in the house until a fire just about destroyed the entire interior. I got a check from the insurance company payable to my mother's estate. I tried to deposit it in order to use it to get the house rebuilt, but the bank would not accept it. The branch manager said that I have to go to the Orphans' Court and be appointed administrator of the estate. At that point I could open a bank account and transfer the title of the house to me and my sister's children. I'm concerned that this will eat up a large part of the insurance money, and we won't have enough left to repair the house. Isn't there some way we can get the house fixed without all this rigmarole?
What Harry says: I would not recommend that you try to do this without legal help. You could get all tangled up in technicalities that a lawyer knows how to avoid. It should not be too costly. Do get quotes from two or three lawyers before you decide on the one to help you. The trouble here was caused by your aunt's failure to finish her job properly. *
Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, PA 19101. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.