Is it legal to use estate monies before 6 months have gone by, to do repairs and cleaning on a house that is unsafe and deduct these costs from the estate money left to pay bills, etc. I hope someone has this knowledge. It is expensive to go to a lawyer for every little thing you need to know. Are there books out there on these subjects? Thank you so much.
By Pauline from Arcanum, OH
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Contact- The Ohio Association of Realtors: Look in thephone book, good luck.
Best thing to do is ask an attorney. You don't want to get the wrong information, spend the money and then have to replace it. :-(
Agree with the other posters about finding an estate attorney; my ex-husband and I were co-executors of his father's estate, which wasn't a big one but was loaded with decisions, medical bills and headaches.
Those headaches would have been unmanageable if we hadn't taken on that lawyer; she charged us one flat fee from the outset --based on the estimated value of the estate--so there were no surprises when it finally wrapped up.
Execution of an estate, even a simple one, can be a nightmare if you're not sure about what you're doing.
In most states, creditors have six months to step up to file their claims against the estate from the time you post legal notices in the major newspapers in the county in which the deceased lived. If I remember correctly, this was in NJ more than 20 years ago, however once the estate bank account is established the executor has the power to begin selling off assets in anticipation of paying off the creditors.
So, if the house needs to be repaired in order to be sold off, likely they can be done before the six months is up; but again, see an attorney to make sure this is on the up-and-up in your state/county.
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