Estate

[SharonZ]

Jurisdiction

New York

My mother passed away a little over one year ago and left a will. There are four children. In the will she named the brother who lived with her as executor and my sister was named co-executor.


She gave a parcel of land to the brother who is executor, and willed her personal residence to the four of us to be divided equally.


When the will was read three of us told the attorney we wanted absolutely nothing to do with the inheritance and we wanted to release our shares and any interest to the brother who is executor. The attorney had us sign a paper that he claimed would release us from the inheritance and any responsibility. Before I signed I noticed that there was a stipulation in the paper that said "Parties agree that they will each join in the execution of a deed from the Parties to (my brother's name is inserted)". I questioned this and we were told it was just a formality and because we released our inheritance to our brother his name would be put on the deed.

Shortly after we received a letter from the attorney stating that he now only represented my brother who is executor.


Last week I received a N.Y. Deed-Warranty With Lien Covenant to sign along with N.Y. state tax papers. there was an out of state tax form because I'm the only one who lives out of state (Tennessee). Why do we have to sign this? How can we guarantee him a free and clear deed, we never had any interest in this property? He has lived in this house for over 40 years.


Now it's being said we only signed an agreement to release our inheritance to our brother and because our mother willed the personal residence to the four of us it means we each own a share and are now responsible for one-fourth of all expenses and upkeep on the house and property. How can we be owners when we made it very clear we didn't want this and we were lead to believe we signed a release? If the three of us refuse to sign the deed then my brother and his attorney are going to request a receivership and force us to pay one-fourth of all expenses and he's going to request we reimburse him for property and school taxes and all utilities he paid.


What if any recourse do I have? I'm not a wealthy person and do not have any extra money to pay for any expenses.

 

[adjusterjack]

All of your assumptions are incorrect and you all do have to sign the deeds, essentially quitclaiming any interest that you do, or might, have..

You are welcome to consult an attorney of your own to confirm that. Perhaps you and the other two siblings can pool your money and raise a few hundred for a consultation.

If you are concerned about taxes and expenses have your attorney prepare a waiver for the brother to sign that relieves you of any such liability.

 

[army judge]

Last week I received a N.Y. Deed-Warranty With Lien Covenant to sign along with N.Y. state tax papers. there was an out of state tax form because I'm the only one who lives out of state (Tennessee). Why do we have to sign this? How can we guarantee him a free and clear deed, we never had any interest in this property? He has lived in this house for over 40 years.


Now it's being said we only signed an agreement to release our inheritance to our brother and because our mother willed the personal residence to the four of us it means we each own a share and are now responsible for one-fourth of all expenses and upkeep on the house and property. How can we be owners when we made it very clear we didn't want this and we were lead to believe we signed a release? If the three of us refuse to sign the deed then my brother and his attorney are going to request a receivership and force us to pay one-fourth of all expenses and he's going to request we reimburse him for property and school taxes and all utilities he paid.


What if any recourse do I have? I'm not a wealthy person and do not have any extra money to pay for any expenses.

Before you sign anything, you must understand what you are signing.
If you don't know what you signed, only what you were told it was, you might have a problem.

You would have been better off by NOT signing the document.
Then your brother would have been forced to petition the probate court to partition the property, meaning forced sale, and divvy up the profits among you.

That's how you avoid bearing any financial expense for refusing to inherit property, you simply do nothing.

Inheritance of real property requires some affirmative step(s) to actually receive or complete the inheritance.


Here are TWO good reasons to reinforce your choice to DISCLAIM:
..
1 = Older individuals disclaim their inheritances to avoid paying estate taxes twice – once when they receive the inheritance and again after their children receive it.

2 = Individuals disclaim an estate so as to not increase the value of their own estate, if they are already wealthy.


You could have said, I need to have my lawyer review these documents BEFORE I sign.

You could take copies of the documents to your lawyer and attempt to seek an explanation about the ramifications of what you signed.

I DISCLAIMED my inheritances when father died, and again when Mother died.
I did nothing affirmatively to cause that to happen, I simply failed to show up at the reading of the wills, and ignored all communication from the lawyers and siblings.

My inaction and silence delayed the process for others, but it kept my financial situation under my complete control, and avoided certain inheritance tax issues.

Governments want to ensnare you in their various tax schemes, which is why DISCLAIMING exists.

I can't say that what you signed is hurtful to you, as I haven't reviewed the documents, nor do I wish to do so. I suggest you have everything evaluated by your lawyer, then discuss how you should proceed to achieve the best desired result for YOU, not others, but for YOU!

Its also a good time to consider what you want to do with your assets upon death. My spouse and I have placed our assets in a family trust.

Good luck....


Here are some articles you can read to see why many people DISCLAIM any inheritance in NY State:
...
...
Can Someone Give Up Their New York Inheritance? How Do You Give Up a New York Inheritance? Giving Up New York Inheritance - Disclaimer and Renunciation in New York City
...
...
Saying 'No Thanks' to an Inheritance
...
...
Disclaiming a New York Inheritance: Denied
...
...
Inheritance Law For New York

 

[SharonZ]

All of your assumptions are incorrect and you all do have to sign the deeds, essentially quitclaiming any interest that you do, or might, have..

You are welcome to consult an attorney of your own to confirm that. Perhaps you and the other two siblings can pool your money and raise a few hundred for a consultation.

If you are concerned about taxes and expenses have your attorney prepare a waiver for the brother to sign that relieves you of any such liability.

Thank you.

 

[SharonZ]

Before you sign anything, you must understand what you are signing.
If you don't know what you signed, only what you were told it was, you might have a problem.

You would have been better off by NOT signing the document.
Then your brother would have been forced to petition the probate court to partition the property, meaning forced sale, and divvy up the profits among you.

That's how you avoid bearing any financial expense for refusing to inherit property, you simply do nothing.

Inheritance of real property requires some affirmative step(s) to actually receive or complete the inheritance.


Here are TWO good reasons to reinforce your choice to DISCLAIM:
..
1 = Older individuals disclaim their inheritances to avoid paying estate taxes twice – once when they receive the inheritance and again after their children receive it.

2 = Individuals disclaim an estate so as to not increase the value of their own estate, if they are already wealthy.


You could have said, I need to have my lawyer review these documents BEFORE I sign.

You could take copies of the documents to your lawyer and attempt to seek an explanation about the ramifications of what you signed.

I DISCLAIMED my inheritances when father died, and again when Mother died.
I did nothing affirmatively to cause that to happen, I simply failed to show up at the reading of the wills, and ignored all communication from the lawyers and siblings.

My inaction and silence delayed the process for others, but it kept my financial situation under my complete control, and avoided certain inheritance tax issues.

Governments want to ensnare you in their various tax schemes, which is why DISCLAIMING exists.

I can't say that what you signed is hurtful to you, as I haven't reviewed the documents, nor do I wish to do so. I suggest you have everything evaluated by your lawyer, then discuss how you should proceed to achieve the best desired result for YOU, not others, but for YOU!

Its also a good time to consider what you want to do with your assets upon death. My spouse and I have placed our assets in a family trust.

Good luck....


Here are some articles you can read to see why many people DISCLAIM any inheritance in NY State:
...
...
Can Someone Give Up Their New York Inheritance? How Do You Give Up a New York Inheritance? Giving Up New York Inheritance - Disclaimer and Renunciation in New York City
...
...
Saying 'No Thanks' to an Inheritance
...
...
Disclaiming a New York Inheritance: Denied
...
...
Inheritance Law For New York

Thank you!