Full Description

A step-by-step guide to settling a loved one’s estate.

Being an executor or personal representative is no easy task. For many, the job comes at a time of high emotion and is something that has never been done before. The Complete Executor's Guidebook is here to help ease this troubling time and make this overwhelming task manageable.

It gives you everything you need to navigate through all the paperwork and responsibility that comes with this role. It takes you step-by-step though all of the legal and financial matters that must be completed and provides you with a plan to timely settle an estate. With it you will feel confident that you are doing everything you need to do, such as:

- Preparing for your role as an executor or trustee
- Making claims for insurance, social security and other benefits
- Understanding the will or trust provisions
- Handling situations when documents are missing
- Going to court
- Dealing with taxes
- Finding your state's laws
- Working with lawyers, accountants, insurance agents and others

Table of Contents

Preface -

Introduction

Frequently Asked Questions

Part One: Preplanning and Transition

Chapter 1: Plain English Definitions
- Wills and Probate
- Trusts

Chapter 2: Making Sure the Shoe Fits
- Accepting or Declining the Appointment
- Anticipating Demands of the Heirs
- Stepping Up in a Time of Need
- Think About it
- Resigning After Accepting the Appointment

Chapter 3: Preplanning: A Conversation with Your Loved One
- The Testator’s Last Wishes for Funeral and Final Interment
- Storage of the Documents
- The Consequences of Items being Kept in a Safe-Deposit Box
- The Reluctant Testator
- Potential Future Issues that could Affect the Estate

Chapter 4: When Death is Imminent
- Providing Assistance in Making Legal Decisions
- Petition for Conservatorship
- Alternative Housing Options
- Hospice Care

Chapter 5: At the Time of Passing: Your First Steps
- Making Funeral Arrangements
- Managing the Estranged Spouse
- Funeral Expenses
- If Death Occurs at Home
- Anatomical Gifts
- Autopsies
- Placement of Children with the Guardian
- Taking Care of Pets
- If the Decedent Lived Alone
- Help Someone Else and Recycle

Chapter 6: At the Time of Passing: Managing the Survivors -
- Providing Emotional Support
- Managing Sibling Rivalry
- Show Me the Money: Managing the Greedy and Impatient Heirs
- Managing the Heirs’ Expectations
- Managing the “Entitlement Disease” Factor
- A Few More Words about the Grubby, Greedy Heirs
- Dealing with Estranged Heirs
- Do Not Take Sides
- Be the Peacekeeper to Your Family
- Confront Resentment Head-on
- Respect the Grieving Process and Religious Customs

Chapter 7: At the Time of Passing: Notification and Getting Organized
- Locating the Will and Other Estate Planning Documents
- Reading of the Will
- Notification
- Obtaining Death Certificates
- Solving Immediate Problems

Part Two: Estate Administration

Chapter 8: Locating, Organizing, Itemizing, and Categorizing the Assets and Liabilities of an Estate
- Locating the Assets of an Estate
- Examine the Contents of a Safe-Deposit Box
- Discovery of Embarrassing Assets
- Discovering Stocks and Bonds
- Review Correspondence from Attorneys and Other Professionals
- Wrongful Death Claims
- Review Past Tax Returns
- Review Correspondence from Real Estate and Title Insurance Companies
- Itemizing the Assets
- Categorizing the Assets and Liabilities
- When a Safe-Deposit Box is Jointly Owned

Chapter 9: Navigating the Sea of Probate
- Understanding the Need for a Formal Probate
- Getting Started: Initiating a Probate Action
- Probate Time Line
- Step One: Filing the Petition for Probate
- The Role of an Attorney
- Where to File the Petition
- Ancillary Probate
- Step Two: Producing the Original Will
- Step Three: Giving Notice
- Step Four: The Initial Probate Hearing
- Proving the Validity of the Will
- Handwritten Wills
- If the Maker of the Will was Physically Unable to Sign His or Her Name
- When There are Two or More Wills
- Whether You Should be Appointed
- The Requirements of a Surety Bond
- Prior to the Hearing
- Will Contests

Chapter 10: Formal Probate: The Next Steps
- Acknowledgment of Responsibilities
- Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative
- Overview of the Responsibilities of a Representative
- Bank Accounts
- Form SS-4
- Inventorying the Estate
- Formal Notification to Creditors
- Collecting Debts Owed to the Estate
- Filing the Accounting and Closing the Estate
- Distributing Assets to Beneficiaries

Chapter 11: When There is No Will
- Understanding the Need for Intestate Succession
- Untangling the Legalese into English
- Determining Who the Children Are
- Other Heirs at Law

Chapter 12: Interpreting and Enforcing the Language of the Will
- Interpreting Who Receives Specific Gifts
- Interpreting Conditional Gifts
- Interpreting When a Child is No Longer a Minor
- Interpreting Who is the Child of the Decedent
- Interpreting Gifts for Pets
- Interpreting Assets Left to a Group
- When a Will Makes Illegal Provisions
- When the Maker of the Will Tries to Control from the Grave
- When a Will’s Provisions are Illogical
- When a Will Leaves Property that No Longer Exists
- When the Will Leaves Non-Probate Assets
- When a Will Leaves Property to a Former Spouse
- When a Will Excludes a Spouse’s Legal Rights
- When the Will Leaves Property to a Testamentary Trust
- When the Will Leaves Property to a Pourover Trust

Chapter 13: When a Formal Probate is Not Required
- Transfer of Assets by Affidavit
- Sample Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property
- Sample Affidavit of Domicile
- Summary or Informal Probate

Chapter 14: Managing the Assets and Liabilities of an Estate -
- Managing Assets that Diminish in Value
- Managing Real Estate
- Evicting a Tenant
- Managing Personal Property
- Managing Investments
- Managing an Ongoing Business
- Managing Debts of the Estate
- Creditor Claims

Chapter 15: Obtaining Benefits for the Estate
- Life Insurance and Annuities
- Mortgage Insurance
- Widow’s Social Security Benefits
- Widow’s Social Security Disability Benefits
- Employment Retirement Plan Benefits
- Bank Account Benefits that are Payable on Death
- Savings Bond Benefits
- Redeeming Traveler’s Checks
- Redeeming Unused Airplane Tickets and Prepaid Travel

Chapter 16: Personal and Estate Taxes
- Federal and State Personal Tax Returns
- Federal and State Estate Tax Returns
- Gift Tax Returns

Chapter 17: Your Right to Compensation -
- Compensation for Administering an Estate
- When there are No Available Assets to Pay Compensation
- Waiving Compensation
- Petitioning for Extraordinary Fees
- Importance of Keeping Accurate Records

Chapter 18: Your Role as an Advisor -
- Payable on Death Bank Accounts
- Retirement Accounts
- Transfer on Death Registration of Securities
- Transfer on Death Registration for Vehicles
- Joint Tenancy
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Gifts
- Life Insurance
- Creating and Revising Wills and Other Documents for Surviving Spouses
- Sample Affidavit—Death of Joint Tenant
- Sample Affidavit—Surviving Spouse Succeeding to Title to Community Property
- Revising the Named Guardian
- Continued Emotional Support
- Daily Living Assistance

Chapter 19: Revocable Trusts and Trust Management
- Translating Trust Terminology into English
- A/B Bypass Trusts
- The Role of the Trustee
- When the Trust Names Cotrustees
- Declining Your Appointment as Trustee
- Comparison of Trustee and Executor
- Step-by-Step Guideline for Trustees
- Investing the Assets of the Trust
- Compensation for Managing a Trust
- Seeking Professional Advice

Chapter 20: Do I Need an Attorney?
- Attorney Fees
- Preparing for Your Appointment
- Do’s and Don’ts for Your First Meeting with the Attorney
- Finding a Probate Attorney

Chapter 21: Words of Thanks -

Glossary

Appendix A: Representative’s Checklist

Appendix B: Notification

Appendix C: State-by-State Summary of Probate Laws

Appendix D: Unclaimed Property

Appendix E: Sample Forms

Appendix F: Blank Forms

Appendix G: Resources

Index

About the Author

Excerpt

Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews: