When a Loved One Dies
(and
You’re Appointed Executor of the Estate)
First off let me state and make
this perfectly clear … I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY so you cannot take this as legal advice
… this is something I have gone through myself and therefore know something
about. Please contact an attorney if you
need legal advice. That being
said … most of this information is available on the internet; however, I found
it all through various websites NOT all in one place … so I felt I needed to
share my knowledge to make it a little easier for anyone reading this. If
you’ve not recently lost a loved one … reading this may help you better
organize your Estate for your loved ones in the event of your death.
Just an FYI ~ I DID contact and
consult an attorney, in order to get the Estate probated, otherwise, I couldn’t
have gotten much of anything done without a document proving I was the Executor
BUT he did not give me a list of things to do NOR did he advise me verbally of
any of these things listed below … the Estate paid a lot of money for
what? A legal document (the Will alone
is NOT enough) to prove I was the Executor of the Estate. That’s it!!!
BUT let me be clear again … you CANNOT do a lot of these things WITHOUT
that document!!!! Document is called Letters Testamentary in Georgia.
My Mama died suddenly in
January 2011 so the shock of it has been hard and difficult but since I was
named the Executor and went through so much in settling her Estate, I felt I
needed to put something on my blog about HOW to handle an Estate and handle it
properly. There is so much to deal with
on a legal level … it’s not easy when you are dealing with your grief.
Now just so ya’ll know … I am a
certified (well I was, I haven’t kept it active since I left the work force)
Paralegal and had a basic knowledge of Estate Planning from a legal aspect so I
kinda knew what I was doing but not really, if you know what I mean … emotions
running high and all. When it happens to
you … you are not in the right frame of mind that you would be for someone
else. That being said … I still had to
‘learn’ what to do so that the Estate was handled properly. It was very important to me, and should be to
anyone who is appointed the Executor, to distribute the Estate just as my Mama
intended it to be. I had to have an heir
added to the Will because the Will did not include this person and I KNEW my
Mama wanted the person added … she had told me this verbally many many times
but never got around to changing her Will so I did what I KNEW she wanted … I
legally had an heir added to her Will as part of the Probate process.
If you are appointed the
Executor of a loved ones Estate here is a basic list of things to do. Most things are common sense; however, during
your grieving process you will not be thinking clearly. A sort of ‘check list’ as this sure would
have made it a lot easier in my situation.
PLEASE NOTE: The first item is the
most important of all … all other items are NOT necessarily listed in order
of importance:
KEYS: As Executor you have the legal right to hold
in your possession ALL keys to the loved ones home(s) and car(s). Make sure you have ALL keys in your
possession immediately!!! This way, no
one can enter the property(s) without your knowledge or drive off with a
vehicle. As Executor you have the legal
duty to make sure all possessions are distributed fairly and in accordance with
the loved ones wishes … this cannot be
done with other people going in and out of the property at their discretion. Believe me … it will happen IF you do not
control the keys!
DOCUMENTS:
It sounds heartless but before you do anything, even planning the funeral or
memorial service … gather ALL important documents (those listed below) because
waiting til later … with others going through the possessions, things might get
misplaced or worse yet … lost! Some
things, like Social Security Numbers, are needed while planning funeral
service. AND this can be very confusing
IF for example, in my case, my Mama was drawing my Dad’s SS under his SS number
and NOT her’s … so the funeral home messed up the Death Certificate by placing
my Daddy’s SS number on it INSTEAD of hers!!!
Another unnecessary thing I had to deal with.
LAST WILL
AND TESTAMENT: Find the original or a
copy right away and contact an
attorney as soon as possible regarding probating (probating the Will is not necessary in the case
of a lost spouse). Unless beneficiaries
are on everything OR the accounts are joint accounts in your name and the name of your loved one
(bank accounts, investments, automobiles, home, etc.) you will need the
verification document from the Probate Court (Letters Testamentary in Georgia)
in order to handle selling or disbursing assets (or even paying bills or discontinuing
services such as cell phone, electric, cable, etc.). NOTE: Beneficiary designation(s) on accounts
override anything stated in the Will and CANNOT be changed!!!
SOCIAL SECURITY CARD: Locate and secure. Make sure the correct Social Security Number
is given to Funeral Home … that of the deceased and NOT their spouse (see
paragraph DOCUMENTS above).
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES: Gather up the MOST
current:
*
Bills
(electric, cable, cell phone, gas, water, mortgage, etc)
*
Checkbook(s)
*
Bank
Statements (both Checking and Savings)
*
Charge
Cards
*
Membership
Cards
*
Investment
Statements
*
Car
Titles
*
Stock
Certificates
*
Savings
Bonds
*
Deeds
*
Tax
Returns
*
And
any and all other documentation of Assets and Liabilities.
All of these things will need to be dealt
with.
BILLS: Continue to pay any bills that come in and all
regular monthly bills. Close any
accounts that are not needed (i.e. cell phone, internet service, cable, etc.)
CHECKING/SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (registers): If you are not on the
checking and savings account (either as a signer or beneficiary) then you must
take care of this ASAP in order to pay any bills. Otherwise, until it is dealt with you will
have to pay from your own funds.
Thankfully, my Mama had put both me and my sister on her checking
account.
BANK ACCOUNT STATEMENTS: Come in handy when
trying to determine a balance in accounts, account numbers, etc. NOTE: Remember a checkbook register doesn’t
usually list account numbers and/or balances.
And also, you might not be aware of HOW many bank accounts there
actually are unless you collect ALL the bank statements.
CHARGE CARDS: Continue
to pay any balances due; however, check to see if the charge card carries any
insurance that will pay off the balance upon owner’s death. This will normally be listed on a previous
statement. Cancel all charge cards that
have no balance … you will need a copy of the Death Certificate and the Letters
Testamentary (document verifying you are the Executor of Estate).
MAIL: File a Change of
Address with the United States Postal Service
as soon as possible, unless, of course, someone will be able to pick up mail
EVERY day.
CREDIT (VERY IMPORTANT … to prevent identity theft): As soon as possible
after receiving copies of the Death Certificate, notify all three Credit Bureaus (Transunion, Equifax and Experian) of death via letter enclosing
copy of Death Certificate. I sent them
overnight mail! Request credit files be
noted ‘deceased’ so that no new credit can be obtained. Once documentation verifying that you are the
Executor of the Estate (called Letters Testamentary in Georgia) is received,
you will then need to write letters again to all three credit bureaus
requesting a copy of the credit reports so that all open accounts can be
closed. Not everyone carries charge
cards in their wallets for every open charge account so you will need to close
ALL open charge accounts. I did this by
writing a letter to each one, enclosing copies of Letters Testamentary and
Death Certificate, and mailed Certified Mail requesting verification that
account had been closed by return mail.
MEMBERSHIPS: Send a letter enclosing
copy of Death Certificate requesting membership be cancelled. The Estate may be due a refund for the unused
months of membership and again prevents identity theft. Also, do this for any subscriptions
(magazines, newspapers, etc.) OR you can just let the subscription run its
course since you will be receiving all forwarded mail; however, you WILL
receive requests to renew in your loved ones name if you have not contacted
them which can go on for years!!!
INSURANCE (auto,
home, life and health): Once the
home(s) and automobile(s) have been sold you need to cancel the respective
insurance (this will not happen automatically and in most cases a refund is due
to the Estate). Obviously, with health
and life, the insurance company needs to be contacted immediately. IF you do not sell the vehicle(s) right away,
make sure whoever will be using or driving the vehicle is listed as a driver on
the policy, otherwise, if there is an accident and the driver is NOT listed,
the insurance company may not cover the damages.
INVESTMENTS (IRA’s, Stocks, Savings Bonds, etc.):
You will need investment statements and stock certificates (or statements,
which was all we had) not only for value but for address to contact investment
advisor or company in which administers stock holdings. There is a process to follow and go through
when transferring or selling investments/stocks. These are explained by the respective holder
of these accounts but CANNOT be done without Letters Testamentary (proof that
you are Executor). You may not even know
some of these investments/stocks/savings bonds exist unless you look through
all of your loved ones files.
NOTE:
For Savings Bonds … the following website has all the forms and information you
will need:
TAXES (to prevent identity theft): Notify Internal
Revenue Service and the Department of
Treasury for your state via letter enclosing copy of Death Certificate so
that no false returns can be filed in your loved ones’ name. I learned this the hard way and it was too
late … someone had already filed a return and received a refund in my Mama’s name!!!!! AND don’t forget to contact a CPA to find out
if tax returns must be filed.
DRIVER’S LICENSE (to prevent identity theft): Notify
Department of Transportation via
letter enclosing Death Certificate requesting Driver’s License be
cancelled and notation be made on driving record of death.
VOTER’S REGISTRATION (to avoid illegal voting): Notify
Voter’s Registration in county of
registration via letter enclosing copy of Death Certificate so that no one can illegally
vote in your loved ones’ name.
CAR TITLE: If the vehicle(s) is paid off make sure you
have the car title. NOTE: Title cannot
be transferred (or vehicle sold) until you have Letters Testamentary.
HOME OR OTHER REAL ESTATE: Cannot be sold or title transferred without
Letters Testamentary.
It
all sounds relatively easy when reading it in list form like this but believe
me … there is a lot of work involved. In
most cases, multiple telephone calls back and forth to get things done
correctly. Nothing goes smoothly … the
government and some companies do not care what you are going through. Some are even downright RUDE! My best advice is to handle it as if it is a
business dealing … it’s hard to take the emotions out but if you don’t its
difficult to handle when emotions get in the way.
Again,
this is just a guideline (talk to your attorney for legal advice) … not all of
this can be found on one website … at least I couldn’t find it. The Probate Court gave me a booklet outlining
what must be done and not all of this was listed even in that.
Another
note, the Executor is the only person, in most cases, that companies will
discuss accounts with.
IDENTITY THEFT can happen very quickly
after the death of a loved one so be sure to handle those items listed above as
soon as possible! I cannot emphasize
this enough! Both my parents had their
identity stolen to some degree within a couple weeks of their deaths. This is NOT something you will want to deal
with AFTER the fact … stop it before it happens!
AND
of course, this goes without saying, make sure you disburse the Estate as the
loved one wished it be done. Be
fair. Most of Mama’s personal property
(the things in her home, furnishings, kitchenware, Rooster collection,
Christmas collectibles, photographs … everything) was divided not only between
her children but also amongst her 9 grandchildren, who were so appreciative to
receive items of their Nana’s. We had
very little leftover and that was given to charity. It was comforting knowing that the majority
of Mama’s ‘things’ were divided amongst her loved ones. I know it would have pleased her to know this!
Finally
… I cannot stress enough the importance of having the keys to the home and
car(s) … otherwise with unlimited access to various family members, things WILL
go missing, some important things and some just sentimental. Sadly, I tried my best to be FAIR but things
still went missing and of course no one claimed responsibility. I found the fairest way to distribute
‘things’, if there were 2 or more ‘wanting’ certain items, was to flip a coin
or something of that nature. Sounds
elementary but hey as long as it’s done fairly that’s all that matters. AND remember, things really don’t mean
anything, having it won’t bring your loved one back, and you don’t want to
cause friction between yourself and your other relatives … NOTHING is worth
fighting over … NOTHING!!!
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