How do you inherit money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of it you can have right away as your name is on it, some of it goes through probate and courts and takes time.
Make sure you have the full list of the accounts, bills, credit cards.
I would try to simplify by closing some of the accounts and paying off the credit cards every month or stop using them completely. Make sure no new charges are put on them automatically. You will be charged interest and late fees if courts take a long time to give you the permit to be the executor.
Don't forget that you have to do his taxes. Make sure you have all the papers needed to get them done easily.

Thank you. I already do the taxes so that's all set, and I'm used to getting all the papers together.

That's a good idea about the accounts. My dad is Depression era so has a zillion bank accounts, and a few are empty. I was thinking those could be closed now to simplify life.

Ohhh, I had not thought about making sure no new charges are put on the credit card. How would I stop that from happening? Do I call each place? This problem may solve itself. The only recurring charges are utilities, which will all go away when we sell house in a few months.

Thank you!

OP

If the balances are generally low, most companies write off remaining balances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

I’m not the lawyer but this is what a lawyer told me.

Most assets are in beneficiary-designated accounts or in joint accounts.

The only thing that could be in the trust is a car, bank accounts, and a house and the house is in the trust.

If we’d been smarter, we would have placed the bank accounts in a trust instead of adding our names to the accounts.

Retirement accounts with beneficiaries go to the beneficiary and aren’t affected by a will or trust.

We will probably get rid of the car and the house before parent passes away so those won’t be concerns—unless parent dies in the next few months.


OP

[Anonymous]

https://buriedinwork.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

If their money is in their retirement accounts, all they need to do is designate a beneficiary. No trust needed for this.

See if you state allows a deed on death transfer. It allows the deedholder to pass the deed onto a beneficiary without going thru probate.

Everything else can be settled among siblings: car, property, etc. There's no need to involve a lawyer or the probate court in cases like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

If their money is in their retirement accounts, all they need to do is designate a beneficiary. No trust needed for this.

See if you state allows a deed on death transfer. It allows the deedholder to pass the deed onto a beneficiary without going thru probate.

Everything else can be settled among siblings: car, property, etc. There's no need to involve a lawyer or the probate court in cases like this.

A car may or may not be that simple depending on the state and how it is titled.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the size of your father's estate and where you live. If he owns a home, stuff inside of it, a car and has bank accounts and a retirement account that is relatively simple IMO.

There would be probate but the bank accounts should move to you via POD and the retirement account should have you named as the beneficiary. Those items would avoid probate. Any insurance policies should have a name beneficiary.

In Virginia you can probate an estate like the one above in a year. Trusts have their purposes but can be overkill in some situations.

If he owns a house, I would not recommend you being on the title. You will loose the stepped up basis and will probably face significant capital gains when/if you sell it.

[Anonymous]

The executor will spend alot of time on the phone, online and submitting documentation.
Here is a hi-level of what is involved.
#1 Handling funeral arrangements.
#2 Getting death certificates
#3 Handling bills, shutting down accounts etc.
#4 Filing claims for any insurance policies, bank accounts, retirement accounts etc.
#5 Filing probate in the city/county of the death.
Etc.

Everything starts with a phone call. There is alot of paperwork and what one entity wants in terms of documentation will be different from the next. It is a lot of work to handle a loved ones estate. If their estate is well documented and organized that is great but it is still alot of work. I can't imagine having to do this for a family member who lives across the country having done this twice locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he have a will? A wife?

There's no wife. We are the only heirs.

Yes, there's a will. One of us is the executor. Our names are on the bank accounts already.

A house? Are the accounts his only assets? Do you need to go through probate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The executor will spend alot of time on the phone, online and submitting documentation.
Here is a hi-level of what is involved.
#1 Handling funeral arrangements.
#2 Getting death certificates
#3 Handling bills, shutting down accounts etc.
#4 Filing claims for any insurance policies, bank accounts, retirement accounts etc.
#5 Filing probate in the city/county of the death.
Etc.

Everything starts with a phone call. There is alot of paperwork and what one entity wants in terms of documentation will be different from the next. It is a lot of work to handle a loved ones estate. If their estate is well documented and organized that is great but it is still alot of work. I can't imagine having to do this for a family member who lives across the country having done this twice locally.

Thank you!

When I planned a funeral before, that part was easy and they got us the death certificates. It would be great to have an attorney handle #3 - #5 just so I don't have to do it.

Someone said the executor is responsible for paying the bills PERSONALLY if the estate does not pay them. YIKES! I am on the bank accounts with a sibling. I feel exposed by this situation where I am responsible for the financial aspect and can get dinged and have to pay bills for my dad. Hopefully, sibling won't take the money too soon, but I don't know because they are unbalanced sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

If their money is in their retirement accounts, all they need to do is designate a beneficiary. No trust needed for this.

See if you state allows a deed on death transfer. It allows the deedholder to pass the deed onto a beneficiary without going thru probate.

Everything else can be settled among siblings: car, property, etc. There's no need to involve a lawyer or the probate court in cases like this.

Thanks!! I've worked to make it simple over the years and was not sure if we can legally just split the bank accounts since we're already on it. Seems too easy!

What someone said about about the executor being personally responsible for outstanding bills made me feel exposed. So, I'll keep a side account that only Dad and I are on and use that for any unexpected expenses before I disperse 50% of the remainder to sibling.

I'm not sure how fast sibling will want to split the bank accounts, and they can be unpredictable and immature, so I have to plan for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

If their money is in their retirement accounts, all they need to do is designate a beneficiary. No trust needed for this.

See if you state allows a deed on death transfer. It allows the deedholder to pass the deed onto a beneficiary without going thru probate.

Everything else can be settled among siblings: car, property, etc. There's no need to involve a lawyer or the probate court in cases like this.

Thanks!! I've worked to make it simple over the years and was not sure if we can legally just split the bank accounts since we're already on it. Seems too easy!

What someone said about about the executor being personally responsible for outstanding bills made me feel exposed. So, I'll keep a side account that only Dad and I are on and use that for any unexpected expenses before I disperse 50% of the remainder to sibling.

I'm not sure how fast sibling will want to split the bank accounts, and they can be unpredictable and immature, so I have to plan for that.

If you and your dad are the only ones on the side account as joint then the account would go to you only after dad’s death.

[Anonymous]

Any accounts that you are on joint with your dad or have named beneficiaries do not go thru probate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

Unless you live in a state like CA, where probate is expensive and slow, you just spend $$ and create a hassle for yourself to avoid probate, which isn’t that big of a deal. Many people end up not titling everything properly and end up having to go through probate, anyway. Simply establish beneficiaries on accounts that will allow it, and those assets will transfer automatically without probate. Trusts are also not a panacea. There are protections built into probate, which can be helpful if there are debts or you have a family dispute or end up with an untrustworthy trustee. If you have minor children, you can establish a testamentary trust in your will that will spring into being by operation of the will. Other than avoid probate, anything you can do with a revocable trust, you can do with a testamentary trust (you want to make sure the future stepmother doesn’t disinherit your kids? Set up a testamentary trust).

You don’t need a trust for tax purposes unless you have over $13.61 million in assets (or $27.22 m per couple). In that case, you’d need an irrevocable trust, which is a completely different animal from the revocable trust that less rich people set up.

I am a fairly well to do lawyer and I have multiple friends who are excellent estate lawyers who have assured me I don’t need a revocable trust. Like I said, the only exception is if you live in CA. Probate court there is a mess. Estate lawyers set up trusts because most clients like having a trust because it sounds good — like they’re rich and maybe getting away with something — and the lawyers get to bill the time to set them up. Like I said, about half the time, all of the assets don’t get titled properly and the estate ends up being probated anyway. But people like to say “I have a trust,” so they get one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do consult an estates attorney. There is a ton of very bad advice here. It shouldn’t cost a lot, because you’ll do a lot of the work yourself. However, they can make sure you cross all your t’s and dot your i’s. There are specific deadlines for filing various things and they can tell you if you need to do an inventory, what needs to be appraised, etc.

Get a credit report for your father. That will list all open accounts. There are probably some that you wouldn’t otherwise know about. Don’t pay anything other than things that you need to keep current like mortgages, insurance and the power bill. If you spend anything out of pocket, keep records, and you can be reimbursed by the estate later. It varies by state, but during probate, you will file a notice with all potential debtors and they will have a set period to file a claim against the estate. If they don’t file a claim, the estate doesn’t have to pay. You’d be surprised how many creditors just don’t file.

Generally, after the executor is appointed by the court and has letters testamentary (or whatever they ‘re called in your jurisdiction) you’ll move all the money into an estate account that the executor has signatory authority for.

The estate will usually settle all debts, including taxes, before distributions are made. If the executor makes distributions and there isn’t enough $$ left to pay, the executor is personally liable.

You’ll need to file personal tax returns for the partial year of the decedent’s death and then estate tax returns while the estate is active. Unless the estate lingers for a while and has income, or it’s a very large estate, you are unlikely to owe estate tax, but estate returns are complicated. I recommend hiring an accountant to do them. There are benefits you can miss — e.g., if you sell the house quickly, you will often get a stepped up basis for the entire sale price *and* be able to carry over a deduction for the costs of sale (realtor’s fees, etc) to your personal taxes.

I’m a lawyer, and I’ve handled several estates, and I wouldn’t handle one without the advice of an expert, unless it was a very small estate (which by definition, this is not, if it includes a house).

PP here who suggested a trust. Both my parents have one (divorced). They each have a home and some money in retirement accounts (not rich but not nothing). I assumed a trust was pretty standard for older people with some substantive holdings. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Can you say why you think it's not necessary in this situation?

If their money is in their retirement accounts, all they need to do is designate a beneficiary. No trust needed for this.

See if you state allows a deed on death transfer. It allows the deedholder to pass the deed onto a beneficiary without going thru probate.

Everything else can be settled among siblings: car, property, etc. There's no need to involve a lawyer or the probate court in cases like this.

Thanks!! I've worked to make it simple over the years and was not sure if we can legally just split the bank accounts since we're already on it. Seems too easy!

What someone said about about the executor being personally responsible for outstanding bills made me feel exposed. So, I'll keep a side account that only Dad and I are on and use that for any unexpected expenses before I disperse 50% of the remainder to sibling.

I'm not sure how fast sibling will want to split the bank accounts, and they can be unpredictable and immature, so I have to plan for that.

Just to be clear: the executor is only liable if there *was* money and the executor distributed it before paying the debts. So if you distribute the money to your sibling and the IRS audits you and presents you with a bill, the executor has to pay it out of personal funds if the sibling refuses to return the $$. It can take a year or more to get everything settled with the IRS (and technically longer — a CPA can file a “request for prompt assessment” with the IRS that can limit the statute of limitations, but at a minimum you’ll want to at least have the estate returns done and all debts paid before you start distributing $$). It’s very common for beneficiaries to start spending their inheritance before they get it and get upset when the process takes time, but hold fast! This is when it is good to have a lawyer, because you can have the lawyer explain the process to the heirs and make it clear that you’re not just dragging your feet or doing anything shady. (And having a trust wouldn’t fix any of this — you still need to pay debts and file tax returns).