My jurisdiction is: Portage County, Ohio
My father passed away two weeks ago and there was no will. There was one small insurance policy, I was not beneficiary, but it was cashed in to go towards his funeral expenses.
He has a home but it has two mortgages that he still owed on that are over $90,000. He had several credit cards, utility bills, property taxes, federal taxes, insurance bills and tons of medical bills which were all unpaid. His 401K and pension are gone as he used them to live on in the last year, federal taxes were taken out, but had no other taxable income for 2008.
The only property he owns is his car valued at about $1,200. He also had some old furniture and household items none of which are even viable to sell.
Since there are no assets do I have to file probate? From what I have read the debitors can open a probate case if they feel there are assets but otherwise I really do not have to do anything.
I do plan on mailing a form letter to each of his creditors as well as social security informing them of his death with a copy of the death certificate but other than that is there anything I legally have to do?
Do we just lock up the house and let it sit until it is foreclosed on? Should we turn the water off as it is getting cold here and the pipes will freeze. What do we do with his car? Is there a way to get the title transfered without probate? If not then do we just let it sit in his driveway?
My father passed away two weeks ago and there was no will. There was one small insurance policy, I was not beneficiary, but it was cashed in to go towards his funeral expenses.
He has a home but it has two mortgages that he still owed on that are over $90,000. He had several credit cards, utility bills, property taxes, federal taxes, insurance bills and tons of medical bills which were all unpaid. His 401K and pension are gone as he used them to live on in the last year, federal taxes were taken out, but had no other taxable income for 2008.
The only property he owns is his car valued at about $1,200. He also had some old furniture and household items none of which are even viable to sell.
Since there are no assets do I have to file probate? From what I have read the debitors can open a probate case if they feel there are assets but otherwise I really do not have to do anything.
I do plan on mailing a form letter to each of his creditors as well as social security informing them of his death with a copy of the death certificate but other than that is there anything I legally have to do?
Do we just lock up the house and let it sit until it is foreclosed on? Should we turn the water off as it is getting cold here and the pipes will freeze. What do we do with his car? Is there a way to get the title transfered without probate? If not then do we just let it sit in his driveway?
