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Originally Posted by wdb
When the person dies half of the value of that account will belong to the estate and half to the cosigned individual, for tax purposes. Said individual will owe state inheritance tax (check your state) on the half assigned to them. We did this with my mother. When she passed the entire account balance was still available to me.
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Only 6 states have inheritance tax: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska. New Jersey. Pennsylvania.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb
They should have been able to bill the estate for legitimate expenses.
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The estate attorney said my father could not pay anything out of my aunt's accounts. Yes, the cost was reimbursed when the estate settled but until then my parents were out of pocket. Had the estate dragged out or the out of pocket been a large sum I'm sure my father might have looked into alternatives. However, it makes sense to me to be proactive and make sure the executor has access to the money they need up front. Planning for how your executor will pay to settle the estate should be part of basic estate planning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb
There are legal requirements regarding notification of death. It's cute to not want to tell anyone, but probably illegal.
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There is no legal requirement to publish an obituary or public death notice. Yes, you have to notify Social Security, Medicare, pensions, insurance, and other people / institutions that the deceased has business with but you don't have to tell random strangers that someone died.