Dear Dave,
Our next-door neighbor was an older single man with no family, and my wife and I always tried to look out for him and help with things. He died recently, and in his will, he left us his home, his car, and the money he had in his bank account. The will was handwritten, and it said the house was worth around $350,000, with $150,000 left on the mortgage. The car is worth about $10,000. Officials at our county office building said the money in the bank account wouldn’t have to go into probate since I was listed as the beneficiary, and I was given a check for that amount. We’ve just never handled anything like this before, and my wife and I were hoping you would help us navigate things….