Today I did something I might regret. I agreed to become the executor of my dying uncle’s last will and testament.
There is no other family other than my brother who is capable of doing this. I agreed to do it because it was the right thing to do. My brother is co-executor.
So can anybody tell me what to expect?
i’m in the same situation w my folks. my brother has estranged himself and my adopted sister has legal trust issues.
i dont know that anyone is going to have a standard answer. it depends on the complexity of the familial situation. are there many people to dispense the assets over? is the family bad-blooded?
will there be backbiting, fights and contentions?
it think it also depends on the will. in my case, it’s not a will, it’s a mixture of a still-deed, estate and will. it was set up to circumvent conflict from my brother’s terrible wife.
all this stuff SUCKS and is extremely stressful, and my folks are not in any sort of immediate death situations. so i feel for you, man. unless you are in a more straight forward situation.
Don’t try to do it alone - get a lawyer who is skilled in the administration of estates. The will should have a clause authorising the estate to pay for reasonable legal expenses. There’s a lot of stuff you can do yourself, but it’s a great help to have a lawyer in the background, if issues come up that you need advice on.
Timely question. I just wrote my will this morning and singled out one nephew as sole beneficiary. He is also named as executor.
In both of the wills I’ve executed, I went to the probate judge, who gave me the forms I needed, and gave me step-by-step instructions on what I needed to do. Both of the ones I did were simple estates, and I did not use an legal services except in doing a deed of distribution for real estate bequests.
It’s usually a simple affair: you appoint an administrator to handle everything and oversee their work.
The major downside is that you will be personally liable for the inheritance tax if the estate cannot pay it - say because a property fails to sell.
What are reasonable expenses, and roughly how much time elapses between a death and the distribution of the estate or its proceeds?
Just wondering as my husband’s aunt died recently in Rhode Island and they’re making it sound like it will take six months at a minimum to wind through probate.
However long it takes. It’s coming up for 2 years with my aunt’s estate because we haven’t sold her house.
Note that legal requirements can differ depending on the jurisdiction and the size and complexity of the estate. Note also that, if there is more than one executor, there should be some formal mechanism in the will (or applicable local law) to deal with any issues where the executors do not agree.
I helped my brother get through the executor duties on my father’s estate. In our case, this mostly consisted of getting documents filled out and to the proper authorities and making sure everybody involved got copies of everything. We were fortunate in that my father really had no estate (just personal possessions and a little cash) and all of his heirs get along very well. The only reason it took 2 of us is that we were both also grieving, and it helps to have 2 sets of eyes reviewing things when you’re in that state.
If it’s a large estate or there could be complications or disputes, I think a lawyer would be a wise choice.