If you're faced with wrapping up the affairs of a loved one who has died, you may feel overwhelmed by all the work ahead -- especially when you're grieving. But with the right legal and practical information, you can do it.
The Executor's Guide will show you how to get organized, get the help you need and make progress one step at a time. Let it help you navigate an unfamiliar land of legal procedures and terminology. It explains:
preparing for the job of executor or trustee
the first steps to take
claiming life insurance, Social Security and other benefits
making sense of a will
what to do if there is no will
how to determine whether or not probate is necessary
caring for children and their property
taxes
an overview of probate court proceedings
dealing with family members
handling trusts
looking up your state's laws
working with lawyers, appraisers, accountants and other experts
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Most people, at one time or another, must wind up the affairs of a spouse, close relative, or friend who has died. They become responsible for collecting and distributing the deceased person's worldly goods, following the instructions in the will and state law.
If you find yourself in this position, your new legal obligations may seem overwhelming. You may be thrust into the unfamiliar world of probate courts and lawyers, asked to read complicated documents that make your eyes glaze, and made responsible for supervising the transfer of valuable property.
All of this happens at a very difficult time, of course. You've lost someone important to you -- perhaps the most important person in your life or the person you always turned to for support and advice. If the circumstances of the death were especially painful, as when a young person dies, just getting through daily life may feel daunting -- never mind taking on extra legal and practical tasks. You may feel that you simply do not possess the energy necessary to sort through records, make phone calls, and make decisions.
It may, in fact, take some time before you can attend to all these matters. And it will also take time, diligence, and patience. But you can do it, with information (from this book and other sources) and help from family, friends, and professionals.
You may be surprised to find that working your way through the elements of your job as executor, steadily tying up loose ends, is in some ways satisfying. It is a way both of honoring the wishes of the person who has died and of performing an unquestionably useful service to those still living. It is a way of saying good-bye and moving on.
You're Not Alone
In the next 20 years, executors and trustees will manage the transfer of more than $4.8 trillion in wealth from one generation to the next. (Douglas Wilson, "Providing Guidance to Executors and Trustees," Journal of Accountancy, Oct. 1997.)
A. What Executors Do
In a nutshell, if you're named as executor you must:
Gather the deceased person's assets. This part shouldn't be hard, especially if the person's assets were of the ordinary kind: perhaps a house, a car, and some bank accounts and investments. If, before the person died, you got a handle on what he or she owned, it will be even easier.
Take care of them. You must safeguard the deceased person's property (both real estate and personal property) until you hand it over to beneficiaries. This may involve making investment decisions or even managing business property.
Pay debts and taxes. You aren't personally liable for the deceased person's debts (unless you were married, in which case you may be); you'll pay them from the deceased person's assets. You will have to file income tax returns on behalf of the deceased person and possibly (if the amount of property left is large) on behalf of the estate.
Distribute what's left. You'll transfer assets to the people who inherit them under the will, under state law, or by contract. This may involve going to probate court, but many assets can be transferred without probate. In recent years, many states have simplified probate significantly, so even if probate is required, it won't drag on like a court case in a 19th-century novel.
The whole process of winding up an estate will probably take from six to 18 months, depending on the circumstances and the law in your state. (Chapter 2 explains all these elements in more detail.) Here's how it usually goes:
Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. If You’re Asked to Be an Executor or Trustee
3. The First Week
4. The First Month
5. Claiming Life Insurance, Social Security, and Other Benefits
6. Making Sense of the Will
7. If There’s No Will
8. Taking Inventory
9. Managing Assets and Paying Bills
10. Caring for Children and Their Property
11. Taxes
12. Property That Doesn’t Go Through Probate
13. Transferring Joint Tenancy Property
14. Transferring Community Property
15. Claiming Money in Retirement Plans
16. Claiming Payable-on-Death Assets
17. Simplified Probate Procedures
18. The Regular Probate Process
19. Wrapping Up a Simple Living Trust
20. Handling a Child’s Trust
21. Handling a Bypass (AB) Trust
22. Legal Research
23. Lawyers and Other Experts
Appendix: State Rules
Glossary
About the Author
Mary Randolph earned her law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of The Executor's Guide: Settling Your Loved One's Estate or Trust, 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, Dog Law, and Deeds for California Real Estate. She is also a coauthor of the legal manual for Quicken WillMaker Plus. She has been a guest on The Today Show and has been interviewed by many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.
