Originally Posted by Becka
Your sister is named beneficiary on the insurance policy - that is her money, period. She is not obligated to spend it on any of your mother's bills or other debts. Note, she's also not obligated to share it with anyone else - siblings, cousins, etc. It's all hers.
If there is no will, and even if there are no viable assets, there are still papers that need to be filed so that an administrator can be named, and Letters of Office issued. No titles can be transferred or property sold without the Letters of Office.
All assets not shared (that is, having someone named as owner with her) automatically become the property of "The Estate of ..." [insert mother's name]. Cars, bank accounts, homes, jewelry, etc. All that will be sold off and used to pay any debts owed by the Estate. These debts are given certain priorities - that is, some people get paid before others according to the laws in your state. MAKE SURE you go by that list. If you pay someone out of turn, the others have a right to sue the estate AND the administrator for mishandling the estate.
Please, seek the advice of a reputable attorney in your state, even if it's just a one-time consulting visit. Estate management can be done independent of an active attorney, but at least have them give you a detailed list of what needs done, where and how to file, deadlines for filing, etc.
First of all thanks to all of you for your input. Even though our mother didn't have a will, only owned the trailer that they lived in, and had just the life insurance. And only my sisters name was on the policy. One of our brothers says that they have the right to take her to court to collect money and or the house. He said that my sister told him that my mom had told her to share. I don't recall my sister saying that my mom said anything like that. But she says that she is going to share but not as much as she said she would when mom first passed away. If the house goes to probate he won't be able to do anything about it right?