state: CA
My father died in March 2008, had no will, and I'm the personal representative.
The only assets my father possessed were the house (which was worth just a little over $100,000) and tax refund checks worth $1900 (haven't deposited or cashed yet). My sister and I (the only beneficiaries) weren't able to pay the mortgage and the house is about to foreclose, or probably already has since someone already put a new lock in on the front door with a security padlock attached to it. So, all my father has is the refund checks. My father filed Ch. 13 bankruptcy in 2004, so he has a lot of creditors and other liens on the house.
My questions:
1) How would my probate lawyer be compensated, if he actually does, if there isn't enough money to pay his complete percentage fee?
2) What percentage will my lawyer get from the $1900? Will I as personal rep get any percentage as well?
3) Can I be held personally and financially responsible for paying the probate lawyer or anyone else in any way?
4) What will cover all the paperwork fees associated with filing probate with the courts? Will that come out of the $1900? And how much of it?
5) Can the probate lawyer and probate courts bill me for costs? Do I have the right to not pay these bills as my sister and I have no money and didn't realize my father's financial problems before his death and before probate?
6) After the house forecloses, what will be my next step as a personal rep if there is any?
-Thanks
My father died in March 2008, had no will, and I'm the personal representative.
The only assets my father possessed were the house (which was worth just a little over $100,000) and tax refund checks worth $1900 (haven't deposited or cashed yet). My sister and I (the only beneficiaries) weren't able to pay the mortgage and the house is about to foreclose, or probably already has since someone already put a new lock in on the front door with a security padlock attached to it. So, all my father has is the refund checks. My father filed Ch. 13 bankruptcy in 2004, so he has a lot of creditors and other liens on the house.
My questions:
1) How would my probate lawyer be compensated, if he actually does, if there isn't enough money to pay his complete percentage fee?
2) What percentage will my lawyer get from the $1900? Will I as personal rep get any percentage as well?
3) Can I be held personally and financially responsible for paying the probate lawyer or anyone else in any way?
4) What will cover all the paperwork fees associated with filing probate with the courts? Will that come out of the $1900? And how much of it?
5) Can the probate lawyer and probate courts bill me for costs? Do I have the right to not pay these bills as my sister and I have no money and didn't realize my father's financial problems before his death and before probate?
6) After the house forecloses, what will be my next step as a personal rep if there is any?
-Thanks
