Lack of will tangles ex's estate
Dear Bruce: My former in-laws both passed away within the past four years, leaving their estate, primarily their debt-free house to their only child, my former husband. He passed away in February, having never put the house in his name or made a will. We have two adult daughters, 43 and 30 years old. Both of them have small incomes, and neither of them is interested in keeping the house. I live in subsidized low-income senior housing that I would love to get out of. My ex-husband's funeral expenses were just short of $7,000, and neither offspring can afford it. We talked about the possibility of me assuming ownership of the house in exchange for my paying his funeral bills. I have never owned a house before, and I'm pretty certain that I'll be able to. Is this possible? I can easily pay $500 a month, but really don't want a mortgage. Would there be any ramifications? I would rather like to find out how to get a low-income home-improvement loan to replace the roofs on the house and garage.
-- S.T., e-mail Dear S.T.: Your husband's neglecting details is a textbook example of why these things can be ultimately far more expensive and cause a great deal of grief. Someone will have to apply to the surrogate court in the county where your husband lived and be appointed administrator of his estate. Obviously, while you could be appointed, you have no interest in the estate. From what I gather, your daughters would be the sole beneficiaries. You are going to have to have an attorney sort this out. Once they are appointed administrator and have settled any debts he may have had -- that includes the funeral home -- the house could be gifted. I understand the cash is not there, but arrangements with the funeral home for you to accept the obligation probably could be worked out.
As to the home-improvement loan: the first step is to get one or both of your daughters appointed administrator of your ex's estate. With the help of an attorney you can do what has to be done.
A lesson for all of my loyal readers ... if you don't have a will, spend a couple of pennies with a competent attorney and get it done.
Dear Bruce: My wife and I are approaching retirement age and think we will be OK even with the economy in its current shape. My salary is about $130,000, and we live frugally. This allows me to save about 50 percent of my take-home. Due to my saving regularly, I have about $60,000 in one savings account and $90,000 in another. We have no debt except our home mortgage. Our mortgage has a rate of 5.82 percent and a payoff of approximately $97,000. My monthly payment of principal, interest, property tax and insurance is just under $900. My question is, since savings accounts and even CDs are returning such low yields, would it be better to pay off our mortgage or should I move my cash to the best CD I can find?
-- G.M., e-mail Dear G.M.: I am assuming you have assets other than the $60,000 and $90,000 that you have alluded to. If you're going to keep these monies in savings accounts which pay almost no interest, yes, I would be paying off the approximately 6 percent mortgage. The savings there are clear. This assumes that there are other monies that I have to believe, given your statement, to be accurate. This is very much a reverse of what has been true for many, many years but times and conditions do change. With such extremely low interest rates available to most of us, unless we are willing to take some risk, a change of methodology is in order.
Dear Bruce: My mother is now sole owner of five two-bedroom apartments located on two separate properties. She is 83 and wants to turn them over to me to manage. We would like to sell them after the market improves. But for now, I would like your advice as to how to handle the income for myself. I am 63 and on Social Security and a pension. Is there any way I could get the business deductions from her property taxes, insurance, repairs, etc., without buying the property to help keep my income down? Should I lease it from her or buy it? I think I am allowed to earn up to $10,000 per year before I lose any of my Social Security until after I am 66.
-- G.S., e-mail Dear G.S.: You didn't share with me how much these apartments profit, if any. You didn't tell me their value. Your mother could gift the apartments to you with no taxable consequence if she claims against her lifetime exemption. This way the property will be yours and could be sold at your pleasure. As to the property taxes, etc., they would be deducted from any net income that might be generated here. I'm sure with some good accounting practices you can keep the income under the $10,000 that you mentioned. If, however, your mother wants you to manage it, you would not have any of the tax advantages, but she could pay you a modest salary for your efforts. Obviously, that number can be controlled so there are no taxes on your Social Security. After you turn 66 you can earn as much as you wish with no penalty.
Send your questions to: Smart Money, P.O. Box 2095, Elfers, Fla., 34680. E-mail to: bruce@bruce williams.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns.
