Link

File:Flag of Illinois.svg

http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois#/media/File:Flag_of_Illinois.svg

1. a. If there is a surviving spouse and also a descendant of the decedent which also means an issue, 1/2 half of the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse and 1/2 half to the decedent’s descendants per stirpes. 755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/2-1
This is different than New York law because in New York law, if the decendent is survived by a spouse and a issue, the first fifty thousand dollars goes to the surviving spouse and the one half of the residue to to the spouse, and then the balance goes to the issue by representation.
b.  If the decedent is survived by a spouse and no issue the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse. 755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/2-1
This is the same as New York law because also in New York law the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse.
c. If there is no surviving spouse or descendant  the estate passes to a parent, brother, sister or descendant of a brother or sister of the decedent the entire estate to the parents, brothers and sisters of the decedent in equal parts, if one of the parents is dead the surviving parents gets double and then the rest to descendants of a deceased brother or sister per stirpes the portion which the deceased brother or sister would have taken if living. 755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/2-1
New York law is different the surviving parent gets all the entire estate first and then if there is no living parents then the estate passes to the issues of the parents.
2. The age of testamentary capacity is any person who has attained the age of 18 years and is of sound mind and memory has the power to pass on things in his/her estate.  755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/4-1
The New York law is the same for testamentary capacity.
3. Every Will should be in writing and signed by the testator and by 2 or more credible witnesses in the testators presence. 755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/4-3
The New York law is the same for testamentary capacity.
 4. Chicago is the city in the state of Illinois with the largest population.
The law firm is called Kaufman Law Group LLC and its ad says TRUSTED PROBATED LAWYERS and I thought that was clever, and they have a picture of a elderly couple which seems nice and also like they are trying to target one type of cliental.
The website looks very well managed and handled.  Its easy to navigate and has a lot of different social media outlets where you can learn more information on the company. It has client reviews and youtube video, which I was not expecting. They also handle more than just real estate appraising.
6. Cook County Probate Division. 50 W Washington St # 1202, Chicago, IL 60602.
Daley Center 2 rs
This a Picture outside of the court house. It’s Picasso’s Lion Sculpture!
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY of CHICAGO, it has both a Associate and a Baccalaureate program in Paralegal studies and is ABA approved. It cost more than City Tech, it is about $630 a credit a semester and the minimum required credits that can be taken a semester is 15 so that is about  $18,900 a year.
The description of their Estates, Trusts and Wills Course:
PLST 355 Estates, Trusts & Wills. This course introduces basic principles of estate and trust administration. The emphasis is on the practical aspects of administration of estates and trusts for the paralegal. Probate proceedings in Illinois will be covered, including the preparation of probate court pleadings, inventories, collection and valuation of assets, distribution of assets to beneficiaries, and accountings. An overview of tax considerations will be provided. If time allows, guardianships for disabled adults will be discussed.

Montana

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag-map_of_Montana.svg

  1. If a decedent is survived by a spouse and issue.

Montana: According to the MONT CODE ANN § 72-2-112(3): Share of spouse:

If the issue is of both the decedent and the surviving spouse, the first $150,000 + ½ (fifty thousand and a half) of the intestate estate goes to the spouse. The remainder goes to the issue.

New York: EPTL: §4-1.1(a)(1):

The spouse receives first $50,000 + ½ (fifty thousand and one half) of the instate estate and the remainder goes to the issue by representation.

 

  1. If a decedent is survived by a spouse and no issue.

Montana: According to the MONT CODE ANN § 72-2-112(2): Share of spouse:

If the decedent is survived by a spouse and no issue the spouse get the first $200,000 + 3/4th (two-hundred thousand and three fourths) of any intestate estate if there is a surviving parent of the descendent. If there is no surviving parent then the surviving spouse gets the entire instate estate.

New York: EPTL: §4-1.1(a)(2):

The spouse gets the entire share.

 

 

  1. If a decedent is survived by no spouse and no issue.

Montana: MONT CODE ANN § 72-2-113 : Montana Code – Section 72-2-113(1)(b):

If the decedent is survived by no spouse or issue the decedents parents receive the intestate estate by representation and if both survive, they receive equal shares.

New York: EPTL: §4-1.1(a)(4):

If the decedent has no spouse or issue, the entire intestate estate will go to the surviving parents by representation.

 

  1. According to Montana Code Annotated, 2005, § 72-2-521, the age of testamentary capacity in Montana is the minimum age of 18 years old, has to be a written document and may be a Holographic Will.

According to the NYS EPTL § 3-1.1, the age of testamentary capacity in New York State is being 18 years of age or older and having sound mind and memory.

 

  1. According to Montana Code Annotated, 2005, § 72-2-525, the State of Montana only needs a total of 2 witnesses to execute a will.

According to the NYS EPTL § 3-2.1 New York also requires a minimum of 2 witnesses to execute a will.

 

  1. The city with in Montana with the largest population is called Billings. Billings has a population of 104,170 and counting.

The Law Firm of Sol Lovas, Lawyer, P.C. specializes in Wills and Probate Law. When I found the site I found it to be very straight forward and to the point. The links are functioning and it is located in Billings, MT.

http://www.lovaslaw.com/

  1. Appraisal Solutions, Inc. is a real estate appraiser company in Billings, MT. I found the site to be kind of sketchy looking at first but the real estate appraisal did a god job in getting detail on the site to make it easy for seekers to understand.

http://www.armorgan.com

  1. Montana’s Supreme Court
  2. The  University of Montana  provides an associates degree in Paralegal studies.

http://www.paralegal-degrees-certificates.com/schools-in/Montana/the-university-of-montana.html

Nebraska


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Nebraska.svgimage

1. a) The spouse receives the first $100,000 and then half of the remainder of the estate.

In New York, the spouse gets the $50,000 and then half of the remaining money.

b) The spouse gets the entire estate if the parents of the decedent are no longer alive.

In New York the Spouse will receive the whole estate.

c) If the decedent is not survived by a spouse or issue, the estate goes to the Parents.

In NY, the estate goes to the surviving parents.

These are according to the Section 30-2302 Intestate Law for Nebraska.

2. It does not state a exact age. What the Probate Law and Administration of Nebraska states is that Old age per se may have nothing to do with undue influence and it has all to do with the mental capacity of the person. Mouth according to Section 20-2329 Seld Approved, Nebraska Revised Statute, the age of the testator has to be is 18.

In NY the age of testamentary capacity is the same.

3. According to Section 30-2327 Execution, Nebraska Revised Statute, there must be 2 witnesses to duly execute a will.

In NY there should be 2-3 witnesses to sign a will.

DECEMBER 25.

4. Omaha is the state with largest population in Nebraska. http://www.reisingerlaw.net/Probate-Estate-Law/

This website is interesting because it is organized and inormative.

5. http://www.omahaappraisals.com/XSitesBasic/HTMLSite.aspx

This website does not seem appealing or catching to the eye. it looks like a plain document and not professionally made.

6. The Douglas County Court also called the Hall of Justice is the court that handles probate proceedings. The Address at which the court is located: 1701 Farnam St, Omaha, NE 68183.

7. Students can earn a Associates degree at the Metropolitan Community College,
Legal Studies Program. This school is ABA Approved.

https://www.mccneb.edu/laws/

It does not state how much a student has to pay for a semester but rather per credit hour. per credit hour it is

Standard tuition $56.00/credit hr.
Persons 62 years of age or older $28.00/credit hr.
CollegeNOW! high school students $28.00/credit hr.
Non-Nebraska Residents (including International Students)
Standard tuition $84.00/credit hr.
Persons 62 years of age or older $42.00/credit hr.
Fees
Facility Fee $5 per credit hour
Graduation application Student will pay for cap and gown purchase if attending graduation ceremony.

The school does not state individual courses according to what i have found. But they do offer these different programs,

Legal Studies – Legal Administrative Assistant (LSAAO)

Legal Studies – Paralegal Accelerated Certificate (LSACC)

Legal Studies – Paralegal (LSPAO)

Legal Studies – Pre-Law (LSPLO)

NYCCT charges about $3260 per semester for a full time student and requires 60 credits for the Associates degree in Applied Science (Law and paralegal Studies) whereas the Metropolitan Community College requires about a 100 credits or so depending on which area the focus is on.

 

 

 

Virginia

    Part 1:

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_seal_of_Virginia

Flag_of_Virginia.svg Lily

      Part 2:

Cited Resources:

Intestate Succession, Nolo.com, http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/intestate-succession-virginia.html

Code of Virgini, Law.Justia.com, http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2006/toc6401000/64.1-49.html

Code of Virginia, Law.Justia.com, http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2011/title64-1/chapter3/64-1-47

Virginia’s Requirement for a Will, Living Trust Network.com, http://livingtrustnetwork.com/estate-planning-center/last-will-and-testament/requirements-for-a-will/virginia.html

Questions:

  1. (A) In Virginia, there are two different outcomes when a decedent is survived by a spouse and issue, it depends on the circumstance in order to determine who gets exactly what in the intestate property. 1, If the decedent is survived by a surviving spouse and his/her issue is in common with the surviving spouse, the spouse gets everything. Or 2, if the issue is not in common with the decedent and the surviving spouse, then the spouse only gets 1/3 of the intestate property leaving the issue with the remaining 2/3. This is different compared to New York law, in New York if a decedent is survived by a spouse and issue, the spouse will receive $50,000 along with ½ of the remaining and the other half left to the issue, regardless if the child is in common with the surviving spouse or not according to the laws of intestacy.

(B) If a decedent is survived by a spouse and no issue, again, the spouse will receive everything according to Virginia’s law. In New York, the surviving spouse will also receive all of the decedent’s estates under the laws of intestacy.

(C) If a decedent is survived by no spouse or no issue, then the next distributee will be the decedent’s parents to inherit the property. This situation is ruled the same way in New York law, the parents will inherit the decedent’s estate if there is no spouse or issue under the laws of intestacy.

  1. In the state of Virginia, the law states that the age of testamentary capacity is (18) eighteen years or older may be qualified to create a will according to the code of Virginia VA. STAT. ANN. § 64.1-47 (West 2011). This is the same as New York, you would have to be age (18) eighteen or older in order to execute a valid will under New York EPTL § 3-1.1.
  2. In the state of Virginia, the testator has to be in the presence of at least (2) two witnesses at the same time in order for the will to be duly executed according to the code of Virginia VA. STAT. ANN. § 64.1-49 (West 2011). Compared to New York law, there also must be a minimum of two witnesses according to the EPTL, §. 3-2.1. However some attorneys may use a third witness in good practice during the signing of a will. Also, in New York the witnesses may sign the will within 30 days of each other, unlike Virginia, the witnesses have to be present at the same time along with the Testator in order to execute a valid will.

        Part 3:

  1. The city with the biggest population in Virginia is Virginia beach with a    population of 437,994. http://www.alperinlaw.com is the law firm I chose that specializes in probate, estate planning and more. I chose this website because it felt very welcoming when I instantly clicked on it, it clearly explained everything the firm specialized in, the layout and images they provided on the website seemed very appropriate for this area of law and researching the team and the leading attorney showed many good reviews about them .
  1. The website I chose for a real estate appraiser for Virginia Beach was http://www.beach-appraisal.com/content.aspx?IntroPlayed=1 . I chose this website because it had a very relaxing vibe but also still very professional. When you enter the website, they provide a brief slideshow of what their website is about which I really enjoyed and on the actually site they clearly indicate all their specialties of their services.

6.  Here is a picture of Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk’s Office that handles the probate in this city.  The address is located at 2425 Nimmo Pkway, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.

7. If a student is interested in getting an Associate degree in Paralegal Studies at Virginia Beach, they can consider looking to the Bryan and Stratton College, however this college does not offer the Baccalaureate in Legal Studies.  The college website link is down below, the site does not disclose the different courses available in the Paralegal Studies Program or the tuition amount without signing up to the school’s site.

http://www.bryantstratton.edu/degrees/associate-degrees/aas-paralegal-studies

Michigan

\http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Flag_of_Michigan.svg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan&h=457&w=685&tbnid=3NmZn8ZC0pZQkM:&tbnh=151&tbnw=227&usg=__gzUuV5iCG1budJdm7scXGtrpoX4=&docid=kiBVtqRPIBVCzM&itg=1

 

I defendant is survived by a spouse and issue:
If there is a spouse and a child from the decedent and spouse the spouse would receive the first $150,000 and a half of the remaining estate, and the issue receive the remaining amount.

If there is a spouse but the decedent only has kids from a previous relationship then the spouse would receive the first $100,00 and a half and the issue receives the rest.

If a decedent is survived by a spouse and no issue the spouse receive the entire estate. Unless the decedent has parents, in that case the spouse receives the first $150,000 and 3/4 of the estate and the parents receive the remainder.

If the decedent doesn’t have a spouse or issue it’ll go to the decedents parents and if no parents it’ll go to siblings.

B) For Michigan the testamentary capacity is 18 years old same as New York.

C) There must be at least two witnesses like in New York.

Mich. Comp. Laws sec.700-2502 (1998).

Detroit is the city with the largest population in Michigan with 713,777. https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-sprint-us&source=android-browser&q=city+with+the+largest+population+in+michigan

http://michiganfamilylaw.com/ they seem very “pro-will” encouraging adults to make a will and assuring that’s its not only for the elderly. It made me happy to see this.

http://www.detroitappraisals.com/
It seemed like a Sol enterprise and didn’t seem so legit and seemed like there wasn’t much experience.

http://www.wayneprobateandjuvenile.org/probate the court in which probates are handled in Detroit is Wayne County Probate court.


You can earn a paralegal studies degree at Wayne County Community College. However there it’s called ‘Paralegal Technology”. http://www.wcccd.edu/dept/learning_resource_center_northwest.htm
This school is ABA approved and to attend the school on a full time bases is more expensive than City Tech. Wayne County Community College cost $9,289 annually and city tech cost about $6,369.

State of Pennsylvania

penn flag

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania

1a. In Pennsylvania, if a decedent is survived by a spouse and issue with their spouse, the surviving spouse would inherit the first $30,000 of the intestate property, plus an additional ½ from the remaining estate. The other half of the remaining estate would then be distributed by representation by their issue. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2102(3) (West 2015). However, if the decedent has issue who are not conceived by their surviving spouse, the surviving spouse can only inherit ½ of the intestate property and the remaining half will then be distributed amongst the decedent’s issue by representation. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2102(4) (West 2015). In New York City, however, if a decedent is survived by a spouse and issue, the surviving spouse would inherit the first $50,000 of the intestate property, plus an additional ½ from the remaining estate. The other half of the remaining estate would then be distributed amongst the decedent’s issue by representation, regardless if they are the descendant of the surviving spouse or not. EST. POWERS & TRUSTS §4-1.1 (a)(1).

1b. In this scenario, both Pennsylvania and New York’s intestacy law concurs that the surviving spouse shall inherit the entire intestate estate. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2102(1) (West 2015), EST. POWERS & TRUSTS §4-1.1 (a)(2).

1c. In this scenario, both Pennsylvania and New York’s intestacy law concurs that the decedent’s surviving parent or parents shall inherit the entire intestate estate. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2103(2) (West 2015), EST. POWERS & TRUSTS §4-1.1 (a)(4).

2. The age requirement in order for a testator to make a will is that they must be at least 18 years old. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2501 (West 2015). Likewise, in New York City, testators must be at least 18 years old as well. EST. POWERS & TRUSTS § 3-1.1.

3. In order for a will to be duly executed, the testator must sign their will in front of at least two witnesses. 20 PA. CONS. STAT. ANN. § 2502 (3) (West 2015). Likewise, in New York City, in order for a will to be duly executed, the testator must sign their will in front of at least two witnesses as well. EST. POWERS & TRUSTS § 3-2.1(a)(4).

4. The city with the largest population in Pennsylvania is Philadelphia. Below is a web link directed to a probate/estate planning attorney located in Philadelphia:

http://www.sjfpc.com/

Mr. Fromm’s web homepage is pretty simple to navigate. The background of the page is white and the font color is either black or blue. The context of the page is also informative. It briefly explains Mr. Fromm’s expertise background, what potential clients can expect from his services, the duties of an estate planning attorney, probate and estate administration attorney, tax attorney, and corporate and business attorney. Mr. Fromm furthermore also included some links on his page that gives business, estate planning, probate, and tax guides for the viewers. Personally, I like his webpage because he doesn’t include flashy advertisements to sell his services, instead, he keeps his webpage simple and add lots of informative guides for viewers to read through so that they have a basic knowledge of what his services includes.

5. Below is a web link directed to a real estate appraiser in Philadelphia:

http://philaappraiser.com/en/Home-Page

My reaction towards this webpage is same as my reaction toward Mr. Fromm’s business webpage. They both do not include flashy advertisements and they keep their webpage’s design simple and easy to navigate.

6. In Philadelphia, they do not have a court house which handles probates. Instead, they have an office called Register of Wills. Its’ functions are the same as a probate court in New York City. They determine whether a will offered for probate should be received as the last Will of a decedent. In situations where a Will does not name an executor, the Register determines and appoints an authorized administer to the estate of the deceased. The current 2015 Register of Wills it the Honorable Ronald R. Donatucci, Esq. The office is located at Room 180 City Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19107. The contact number for the office is (215)686-6250. Below is an image of Philadelphia’s City Hall.

(Credits to: http://mapio.net/o/4853116/)

7. One Philadelphia university which offers an Associates degree in Paralegal Studies which has been approved by the American Bar Association is the Community College of Philadelphia. Their Wills, Trusts and Estate Administration course seeks to provide “an in-depth introduction to the tasks performed by paralegals in estate planning and probate of a decedent’s estate.” I’m not sure about the tuition costs between this college and City Tech, but students applying to either colleges may receive financial aid. In addition, the tuition rates for the Community College of Philadelphia varies based on the student’s residency. Below is the link for the college:

http://www.ccp.edu/