What’s the process of inheriting money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be sure to get a lot of copies of the death certificate. Like twenty copies. You'll need them for all kinds of things.

People always say this, but I think it is dated advice. I’ve handled several estates, and each time I could have gotten away with five copies. Definitely no more than ten. People can look death certificates up on line now, and almost every financial institution that wants to see an original gives it back to you. The letters testamentary were the thing I kept having to order more of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually a trust expedites thangs and makes it easier. You won’t need to go through probate and everything stays private.

There is usually some assets out of the trust or named beneficiaries people don’t think of that force probate. Have an attorneys office do it. A paralegal should be able to handle the whole thing.

Will the attorney’s office call financial companies to make sure we are the beneficiaries? Or would they focus on getting other items into the trust?

OP

If you hire an attorney, they will handle any filings with the court, letters to creditors, etc, and they will advise you on how to handle everything else, but you’ll end up doing a ton of legwork and phone calls yourself. Which is a good thing; you really don’t want to pay an attorney’s hourly rate for things you can handle. If the estate is complicated at all, I encourage you to hire an attorney first thing. I am a lawyer and have handled several estates and the advice of a good estate attorney has always been invaluable. There are all kinds of requirements and deadlines for notifying heirs, creditors, filing inventories, etc that are essential to meet and the rules vary greatly by jurisdiction. Also, hire an accountant to handle the tax filings. The last personal filing may not be hard, but estate filings are very complicated and you could easily miss some tax benefits if you try to handle it yourself (e.g., because real estate is inherited with a stepped up basis, any expenses like realtor’s fees are deductible as losses but because there is (likely — this can get complicated) no “profit” they are passed through to the heirs). You’ll also need to get appraisals for any valuable inherited property (jewelry, silver, art, etc) so you can establish the basis going forward. This is all stuff the attorney and accountant will advise you on.

The biggest and only thing I would worry about right now is making sure you have a good handle on things like where the paperwork on your parents’ assets and liabilities is, and, if possible, where the passwords for any computers and on line accounts may be. If you can do it, get them to make a list, with account numbers and passwords. One good piece of advice I got was to run a credit check on the deceased. That will let you know if there are any accounts outstanding that you don’t know about. (One estate I handled had a dozen old accounts that hadn’t been used in decades, but which had never been closed. But each got a creditor letter, and sure enough, one popped up after the deadline and tried to make a claim. Too bad.) Where are the keys/combination to the safe deposit box/safe? Things like that can save you an immense amount of time in the future. Once your parent dies, take the will to a lawyer who specializes in estates, and they’ll walk you through the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually a trust expedites thangs and makes it easier. You won’t need to go through probate and everything stays private.

There is usually some assets out of the trust or named beneficiaries people don’t think of that force probate. Have an attorneys office do it. A paralegal should be able to handle the whole thing.

Will the attorney’s office call financial companies to make sure we are the beneficiaries? Or would they focus on getting other items into the trust?

OP

If you hire an attorney, they will handle any filings with the court, letters to creditors, etc, and they will advise you on how to handle everything else, but you’ll end up doing a ton of legwork and phone calls yourself. Which is a good thing; you really don’t want to pay an attorney’s hourly rate for things you can handle. If the estate is complicated at all, I encourage you to hire an attorney first thing. I am a lawyer and have handled several estates and the advice of a good estate attorney has always been invaluable. There are all kinds of requirements and deadlines for notifying heirs, creditors, filing inventories, etc that are essential to meet and the rules vary greatly by jurisdiction. Also, hire an accountant to handle the tax filings. The last personal filing may not be hard, but estate filings are very complicated and you could easily miss some tax benefits if you try to handle it yourself (e.g., because real estate is inherited with a stepped up basis, any expenses like realtor’s fees are deductible as losses but because there is (likely — this can get complicated) no “profit” they are passed through to the heirs). You’ll also need to get appraisals for any valuable inherited property (jewelry, silver, art, etc) so you can establish the basis going forward. This is all stuff the attorney and accountant will advise you on.

The biggest and only thing I would worry about right now is making sure you have a good handle on things like where the paperwork on your parents’ assets and liabilities is, and, if possible, where the passwords for any computers and on line accounts may be. If you can do it, get them to make a list, with account numbers and passwords. One good piece of advice I got was to run a credit check on the deceased. That will let you know if there are any accounts outstanding that you don’t know about. (One estate I handled had a dozen old accounts that hadn’t been used in decades, but which had never been closed. But each got a creditor letter, and sure enough, one popped up after the deadline and tried to make a claim. Too bad.) Where are the keys/combination to the safe deposit box/safe? Things like that can save you an immense amount of time in the future. Once your parent dies, take the will to a lawyer who specializes in estates, and they’ll walk you through the process.

Also, when you’re hiring an attorney ask if it’s flat fee or hourly. If it’s hourly make sure they have a paralegal who has a lower rate than an attorney. Most of the work is administrative, filling out forms, not missing deadlines, phone calls. A trained assistant with experience will get it done fast and efficiently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be sure to get a lot of copies of the death certificate. Like twenty copies. You'll need them for all kinds of things.

People always say this, but I think it is dated advice. I’ve handled several estates, and each time I could have gotten away with five copies. Definitely no more than ten. People can look death certificates up on line now, and almost every financial institution that wants to see an original gives it back to you. The letters testamentary were the thing I kept having to order more of.

You shouldn't need more than 5-7, but I've handled 3 estates (two very large ones), and I've never had someone look up a death certificate. They have always requested one from me: mailed or emailed, certified or not. Letters testamentary are only if you had to file in the probate court. Death certificates are needed for items that pass outside probate: through a trust, accounts with a beneficiary, etc.

[Anonymous]

My parents and IL have all passed away and have seen various things. One random piece of advice, find out if they have a safe deposit box and if possible the contents. Even better if they give you access now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually a trust expedites thangs and makes it easier. You won’t need to go through probate and everything stays private.

There is usually some assets out of the trust or named beneficiaries people don’t think of that force probate. Have an attorneys office do it. A paralegal should be able to handle the whole thing.

Will the attorney’s office call financial companies to make sure we are the beneficiaries? Or would they focus on getting other items into the trust?

OP

If you hire an attorney, they will handle any filings with the court, letters to creditors, etc, and they will advise you on how to handle everything else, but you’ll end up doing a ton of legwork and phone calls yourself. Which is a good thing; you really don’t want to pay an attorney’s hourly rate for things you can handle. If the estate is complicated at all, I encourage you to hire an attorney first thing. I am a lawyer and have handled several estates and the advice of a good estate attorney has always been invaluable. There are all kinds of requirements and deadlines for notifying heirs, creditors, filing inventories, etc that are essential to meet and the rules vary greatly by jurisdiction. Also, hire an accountant to handle the tax filings. The last personal filing may not be hard, but estate filings are very complicated and you could easily miss some tax benefits if you try to handle it yourself (e.g., because real estate is inherited with a stepped up basis, any expenses like realtor’s fees are deductible as losses but because there is (likely — this can get complicated) no “profit” they are passed through to the heirs). You’ll also need to get appraisals for any valuable inherited property (jewelry, silver, art, etc) so you can establish the basis going forward. This is all stuff the attorney and accountant will advise you on.

The biggest and only thing I would worry about right now is making sure you have a good handle on things like where the paperwork on your parents’ assets and liabilities is, and, if possible, where the passwords for any computers and on line accounts may be. If you can do it, get them to make a list, with account numbers and passwords. One good piece of advice I got was to run a credit check on the deceased. That will let you know if there are any accounts outstanding that you don’t know about. (One estate I handled had a dozen old accounts that hadn’t been used in decades, but which had never been closed. But each got a creditor letter, and sure enough, one popped up after the deadline and tried to make a claim. Too bad.) Where are the keys/combination to the safe deposit box/safe? Things like that can save you an immense amount of time in the future. Once your parent dies, take the will to a lawyer who specializes in estates, and they’ll walk you through the process.

Don’t leave this list at her house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents and IL have all passed away and have seen various things. One random piece of advice, find out if they have a safe deposit box and if possible the contents. Even better if they give you access now.

My aunt cleaned out my grandmothers safe deposit box. Told everyone there were just old papers in there. And never accounted for her $250k worth of jewelry. So this is very good advice.

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain the tax difference for inheriting a property via trust Vs probate and how does having the beneficiary name on the property deed affect any of this?