ESTATE/PROBATE

We are going to begin by describing the type of problem we usually see in our office.  People are commonly referred to MLSC by the Social Security Office or the Pension Office or an insurance company after a member of the household has died.  The client usually has been told some kind of document needs to be prepared.  It is during our interview of the person that we usually learn that it is necessary to secure a Court Order to fully assist the person.  Usually these are matters that could have been taken care of while the deceased was still alive.

For example, the wife of the deceased may need to establish she was customarily married to the deceased.  It does not matter that she was married for 40 years and recognized in the community all that time as the wife of the deceased.  Certain public and private agencies require a document as proof of the marriage.
 
Before the death of one's spouse, it is very easy to secure the required document.  The married couple can simply go to the Office of the Clerk of Court at the Courthouse to register their customary marriage.  They provide the Clerk with their names and the date, or approximate time period, of their marriage.  Then the couple signs the document, which the Clerk witnesses.  There is a fee which must be paid to the Clerk of Court.  A copy of the document is given to the couple.  That is all there is to it. 

If the couple loses their copy of the document, they can always go to the Office of the Clerk of Court to get another copy of the document.If a couple fails to register their marriage at the Courthouse while both are still alive, it then becomes necessary for the surviving spouse to file a Petition with the Court, which costs $50.00 if filed in the Common Pleas and Supreme Court.  Both Courts can issue the necessary Order.

After filing the Petition, the surviving spouse must wait for a hearing date, as the Petition must be publicized.  At the time of hearing, the surviving spouse and/or other witnesses must testify that the surviving spouse was married to the deceased, the approximate date of the marriage, and that the surviving spouse continued to be married to the deceased until the date of death.

Frequently, Social Security and other benefits must be delayed until this Court Order can be secured.  Due to the custom of a spouse not leaving the house while in mourning, a delay of months can result before the spouse can contact counsel, have the necessary documents prepared, and have the hearing.  Usually this delay occurrs at a time when the surviving spouse most needs the benefits or other monies.

The Palau MLSC Office urges all persons married under custom to go to the Office of the Clerk of Court to register their marriage now! Persons who were married in church or by an authorized government official, such as a Court judge or justice, should already have a marriage certificate, so they do not need to register their marriage.  However, it is a good idea to make sure you have a copy of the marriage certificate in your possession.  If you do not, go to the Church where you were married, or to the Office of the Clerk of Court, to get a copy of your marriage certificate.

The Palau MLSC Office also suggests that you place a copy of your marriage certificate in the files of yourself and your spouse at the Social Security Office, Pension Office, and other offices which provide benefits upon the death of a spouse.  You may also wish to provide a copy to your insurance provider.  It will relieve you of one less burden at a time when you are in grief.

Now the Palau MLSC Office would like to explain to you about what happens to the property of a person who dies.

When a person asks the Court to decide what should happen to the property of a person who has died, we call this probating the estate.

Because most of a person's property is disposed of by the family of the deceased during the eldecheduch, in the past it has not been necessary to probate the estate of the deceased.  However, with the introduction of Western concepts and systems, it is becoming necessary for the Court to issue an Order in certain circumstances. During the eldecheduch, the extended family of the deceased, on both the maternal and paternal sides, gathers together to decide what property and/or monies will be given to the spouse of the deceased and to the children, both adopted and natural, of the deceased.  In the past, the property given out was land, Palauan money, and houses.  The extended family normally has not made decisions about what should happen with American money, bank accounts, cars, boats, household furnishings, stocks, bonds, or other financial assets of the deceased.

American money and household furnishings are not much of a problem.  They are physical objects that can be given to a particular person.  However, a problem arises when it becomes necessary to determine what should be done with a car or boat, if these items have been registered solely in the name of the deceased.  Similarly, problems arise with bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and other financial assets which are represented by a piece of paper if they are listed as having been owned solely by the deceased.

If the deceased was the sole owner of a bank account, the family of the deceased cannot legally receive the assets of that account without a Court Order.  If the bank account had been in the name of the deceased and a second person, the second person would be the legal owner of the bank account assets.  The second person could, then, remove the bank account assets and give them to the persons the family decided should receive the bank account and no Court Order would be needed.