What do you do when someone passes away and you are executor?
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Anonymous
You can hire for that too. You can hire someone to go through her stuff and donate and dispose. For the homes, you could hire a realtor to deal with everything and just sell as is. |
Anonymous
I've done it twice. - Hire Junk Army to get rid of big heavy stuff. - Everything else goes to Goodwill. Rent a u-haul, make one trip. - Get local realtor to put home on market as-is once it's empty. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
So I am a probate lawyer. A couple of things 1) depending on the estate, you can certainly handle things on your own. when some people come in and I review the estate, I have recommended that. But, if there is any complexity to the estate you are likely to miss things (like fail to file fiduciary income tax returns or not file the necessary paperwork to clear creditors) or pay more for things that you shouldn't (e.g., in DC pay for publication in WaPo that can cost $750 when I know publications that do it for less than $200). 2) A Probate lawyer does way more than just deal with wills but will assist the personal representative (executor is generally a term used anymore) in administering the estate from filing the petition for probate, filing the inventory, filing the account, deal with creditors, working with the Estate's CPA, provide counsel on how retirement benefits should be addressed, work with or recommend other professionals to deal with cleaning out the house, putting the house on the market. 3) reduce the amount of time for the administration of the estate and/or reduce the amount of time you administer the estate because being a per. rep. can be a fulltime job at some points of the administration. 4) if you are out of town, a probate lawyer can represent you at various times in town to deal with a house, accounts, etc. |
Anonymous
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I was the executor for my mother’s estate. A lot depends on the assets. My mother had a number of annuities, IRAs and life insurance with named beneficiaries and that all passed outside of the estate. Her checking account was set to pay on death to named individuals. As executor I had to contact these various places and get the info to my siblings but that was about it. There wasn’t any real estate/house. I also had to file the income taxes, but we used my mother’s CPA. I am a big proponent in hiring the right people to help, but none was needed in this instance. The best thing you could do now is to get a list of all accounts, consolidate accounts where feasible, and make sure all beneficiaries for IRAs etc are up to date.
A friend of mine was an executor for a more complicated estate and he found the book Estate and Trust Administration for Dummies to be very helpful. You could probably get that from the library and it might help you decide whether you may want to consult with an attorney or not when the time comes. |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks so much. this is helpful. I am just trying to get up to speed on all these things, especially as my mom has alzheimer's. I am so so glad we redid the will while she is still able to make decisions (she is early/mid stage).
All of her major assets are in a trust, which is divided between me and one sibling, outside of specific cash gifts to some other family members. She is also the beneficiary of a trust that dissolves on her death and is split equally between me and my sibling. There are 2 accounts that are POD. No life insurance or retirement accounts outside a roth that has direct named beneficiaries. That's about it. So I dont think we will need to do probate, just administer things, pay taxes, etc. (Assuming there is anything left! she's in a very nice assisted living facility and I want to ensure she has the best care). |
Anonymous
| You don’t necessarily need a lawyer. You can go to the county clerk and ask them whatever questions you have. IME they are very helpful, though maybe not in moco. Maryland is complicated. |
Anonymous
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This thread is helpful. My parents are divorced and have both named me the executor because I live in the same state as them.
I don't expect anything complicated, but I still don't really know what to do either! Glad their is a "for dummies" guide out there  .
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Anonymous
Some states have different requirements related to probate. I would start there to ensure you can do without an attorney. We couldn't and hired the individual who wrote the Will. |
Anonymous
| Its dated some but the book "Please don't die, but if you do What Do I do Next" (on Amazon) was very helpful in covering things (some that a lawyer wouldn't help with). I did my father's estate without a lawyer and things went fine - three way split among his children. The Register of Will office was very helpful. In Maryland there is a "Modified Administration" which can be used for straight forward estates with friendly beneficiaries. It greatly reduces the paperwork and court oversight. (Register of Wills has instructions/forms on line). Most Investment companies have offices that deal with death of an account owner. They will send you the paperwork needed to split accounts, etc. Generally they want a death certificate or proof you're the executor (provided by the court). Verizon took more time than some of the big accounts. Really all the state and federal government care about is they get any taxes (estate, inheritance) coming to them. |
Anonymous
| How does one put bank accounts in a trust? Do I need a lawyer to do this? |
Anonymous
| If there is a lot of money there or you have difficult siblings who might make accusations, I would make sure you work with a lawyer and possibly an accountant. You them out of the estate. You don't want to be a position of having to defend yourself for a job you didn't ask for. Decline of a parent and death of a parent can bring out a lot of crazy. |
Anonymous
+1 it really depends on the assets, family dynamics and how much time you have to deal with it all. I hired an attorney for reasons number 2 and 3. I wanted no fingers pointing at me for anything, so I hired an attorney and told everyone ‘if you have a question ask him and his hourly rate is $250 to the more you ask the less the estate will be’. For the amount of time it takes - a lot has to be done during business hours and a went through a significant amount of my vacation time to deal with it all. If I was doing everything I think I would’ve died from the stress. After this experience I told everyone that I’d refuse an executor position for everyone except my parents and siblings with kids under 25. (As the only attorney in the family I believe a couple of cousins had me listed as their executor. Never again). |
Anonymous
You should just be able to assign the trust as the beneficiary of the account. |
Anonymous
You need a lawyer to establish the trust. Plenty of people make a trust, but never actually retitle their assets to be “in the trust”. |