Obituary

 Hal, a onetime close friend of mine, died last week, from complications of old age. We hadn’t been in touch for a while, and I didn’t know his circumstances until his cousin, Charlie, called me.
Turns out, Hal had a house, furniture, a car, some good artwork, some stocks, a cause of action against a fraudulent broker and a lifetime collection of stuff.  He had a roommate in the house, and some bills.
He had no spouse, no children. His parents had predeceased him. His closest relatives were a dozen cousins. He was friendly with two of them, but most of them he barely knew and hadn’t heard from in years.
Hal died intestate. He left no will, no trust, no joint or Payable-on-Death accounts. He had told cousin Charlie that he wanted his artwork to go to a certain museum.
Charlie asked me, could he give the artwork to the museum? I told him that he had no standing to dispose of anything, unless and until he is appointed Administrator of Hal’s Estate.
There will be a probate proceeding, which will take at least a year and will cost thousands of dollars for attorney’s fees, administrator’s commissions, a fiduciary bond and court costs.
The dozen cousins will all have to be notified of the probate. If the roommate doesn’t leave voluntarily, he will have to be evicted before the house can be shown or sold.
The sale of the house will require Court confirmation, entailing extraordinary attorney services and fees. The other assets will be liquidated, and all the creditors’ claims will be paid, compromised or litigated.
Eventually, the dozen cousins will share equally in the Estate, even though they were not equally regarded by Hal. The artwork won’t go to the museum.
I wasn’t Hal’s attorney, but how I wish I could have warned him!  If he had written a will, at least he could have directed the disposition of his assets, whether to charities, friends or even cousins.
Better yet, if he had had a living trust, he could have saved his beneficiaries all the cost, time and inconvenience of Probate.
Charlie will have his hands full, for the next year, if he takes on the burden of administering Hal’s Estate.
Rest in peace, Hal.
Jerry Kessler practices law in Santa Clarita. You may call him at 661-255-1001.