I need some type of direction on this.
My mother had shares of Metlife stock through Computershare. She was earning a quarterly dividend from these shares. She is deceased and I am her executor. I do not have legal representation because I cannot afford it. I am trying to handle her probate on my own.
I contacted Computershare and was told that in order to get the money from her shares to pay off her debts, I need to transfer the shares to another account. There was no beneficiary. (Computershare says they don’t have them. ? )
I would prefer to not have to go to the trouble of setting up another trade account just to turn around and sell the shares. I am told I can’t just sell them and put the money into a probate account. The money will pay toward her funeral expenses and toward her bill from the VA home.
Has anyone dealt with this situation? Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this?
I have already tried legal aid and they were no help at all. One person was supposed to help me fill out the probate forms and she was no help at all. (I knew more than she did, she kept saying “Let me google that and get you an answer.”) The next person I talked to after the probate was done, told me to talk to a probate lawyer. When I explained I couldn’t afford one, they said “maybe” they would work pro-bono.
I have contacted a couple different lawyers and they have either not gotten back to me or want @ $5000. I don’t have that kind of money and if I pay it out of the estate, then her funeral bill wouldn’t even get paid.
Stats: I am in Madison County, NY State. Mom’s estate was/is @ $50,000 with a home that is worth $40,000. There are approx 54 shares of Metlife stock, worth @ $4500.
The dividends from the stock are being deposited into a credit union account that I have tried to close and the credit union won’t close it due to a credit card account that was supposedly charged off 3? years ago.
I don’t know what to do…
Lady Ianna