DEAR BRUCE: Our grandfather left a substantial amount of money to his six kids, about $100,000 each, but he died without a will, thinking the kids would live by his wishes. One of his sisters (my aunt) took the entire $600,000 out of the bank after his death and never divided it. Is there any legal recourse that can be taken, as none of the other siblings ever made her administrator of his estate? -- D.F., via e-mail

DEAR D.F.: You say your grandfather left a substantial amount of money to his kids, but that is not true. Since he died without a will, the state will decide to whom and in what amounts the residual of his estate, after his obligations have been settled, will go. How your aunt took the money out of the bank is another question. She may have been on the account -- and if she was, the money, in most cases, would belong to her. Furthermore, someone should apply to the surrogate's office in the county where your grandfather lived to be named administrator of his estate to settle the legal matters. Should this application be made, all of his children will be asked to sign off. The likelihood is that your aunt would object to someone else's being appointed administrator. If it gets to that, there would be legal motions made on the part of both parties, and the surrogate would have to settle the matter. This is just another example of how having a properly drawn will would obviate !

all of these difficulties. A few dollars spent on a will would have saved a great many dollars that will now have to be expended.

DEAR BRUCE: A family bought a house, which was overpriced. The house has a mortgage of about $200,000 at a 6 percent fixed-rate loan for 30 years. They made payments on the loan over the course of a year. The family member and spouse both recently lost their jobs. Because my husband and I are retired, we have income and some savings. Would it be wise to help the family make their house payments in the hope that they can find work? If they are unable to find jobs equivalent to what they were paid, can the house be refinanced at a later date at a lower rate of interest? -- L.O., via e-mail

DEAR L.O.: It would appear that the $200,000 purchased value has diminished rather considerably. You didn't indicate the amount they may have put down, but I'm guessing it was a modest amount. If these suppositions are correct, then the family involved is very much under water. They both have no income, and the question of when their income will resume is impossible to answer. While I must congratulate you on your generous offer, it is unlikely to be a smart move. They have no equity in the home and little prospect of having equity for a long period of time. A voluntary repossession would very likely be in their best interest. If you choose to help them get into a rental property, that would be very generous. I would not continue to pay the mortgage on a house that is very undervalued and has little chance of recovery for considerable period of time.

DEAR BRUCE: If someone had $3 million, they could put $250,000 in savings and checking accounts, and the FDIC would protect them. Where is a safe place to put the balance while they are contemplating where to spend or invest it? -- S.Z., via e-mail

DEAR S.Z.: The current FDIC maximum per account is $250,000, as you have stated. However, there are ways to construct the other accounts in that institution so that you may have several accounts covered. Your marital status is a factor here. Further, your bank probably has associations with others that would allow it to act as an agent, opening accounts in other FDIC-insured depositories. You don't need to use that -- you can go to any number of institutions in your community -- but it is generally easier to go through your own bank and have them make the arrangements. It's not a difficult thing to accomplish.