His death was not very sudden, and not entirely unexpected, and he died in peace today at 1:36AM. He was the smartest man I knew, author of more than a dozen books. He was the glue that held my family together. We will all miss him…
Today we made our arrangements at the funeral home. But now, we are afraid of the next step in the process: his estate.
He had a will that we found, but it’s 30 years old. We haven’t uncovered a more recent one, but he had talked about having a new one (in vague terms). He left everyone out of the loop regarding finances, insurance policies, IRA’s and the like. Right now I have a stack 2 feet high of statements and the like to sort through.
What do we do now? We have no idea, none about if probate is needed, if we can have my grandma take the estate without much hassle. Are the insurance policies taxed? How exactly does one transfer his stuff to her?
We are lost. Is there any help available?
ETA:
Why is everything related to the funeral so expensive? $150 for a basic guestbook? $1400 for a casket rental?? I feel almost violated…
IANAL, but I’ll offer a few suggestings based on my past experiences. Do you have any clue about his desires for dealing w/ his body? Does he own a burial plot? If not perhaps you might consider cremation and maybe a memorial ceremony. Unfortunately you need to put aside your emotions and be penurious in dealing w/ funeral arrangements, remember that arrangements made after death are for the living, your grandfather could care less, he’s already gone. Wills should be probated, you can probably get some info. on this by doing some searches for his legal jurisdiction, you may need to hire a probate atty.
In searching for a newer will you might contact the law firm that did the 30 year old will, or find out where he banked and see if he had a safety deposit box. Also search his home for safes, lock boxes, firesafe boxes, file cabinets, etc.
Here’s a site that might help w/ the nuts and bolts: Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan
I’m sorry for your loss, you will get through this.
Some of these questions you should ask a lawyer in your own state.
However, that said – in many locales, a surviving spouse is the de facto inheritor of the entire estate if the decedent is intestate (has no will). If this is true in your situation, the next logical step would be for your grandmother to get a will drawn up.
I’ll tell you how it worked for my family here in NJ. When my father died, we had to go to the county probate office with the will and pay a modest fee. Not too long after that we received a number of copies of an official document. Then the executor(s) presented one of the official copies of that document to the various banks, etc. and had the balances transferred to an account for the estate. Then expenses were paid out of that account, and the proceeds of any property sales were placed in that same account. When all of the aforesaid were completed, the balance of the account were split among the heirs. (My sister and I were the sole heirs and also co-executors.)
When my mother-in-law died, my husband went through a similar process but was able to simply transfer everything directly to himself as he is her only son and heir.
Check with your lawyer and your accountant, but it is my recollection that the inheritance itself is not federally taxed unless it is really huge. However, if the inheritance generates a profit before it is distrubuted, that income or capital gain can be taxed. See here.
Obviously, I know absolutely zip about the laws and procedures in your state, and the above is just my own experience; IANAL or accountant.
On your final questions: Because it can. Because people in your situation don’t feel up to haggling about costs. Because sometimes doing without some item or other, or buying something less expensive, raises fears that the family will be thought less well of for not sufficiently loving and respecting the departed.
My parents both had immediate cremation so we avoided a lot of expenses, but that’s what they both wanted and my sister and I agreed with that. We did have a memorial service, but the cost was not that much. OTOH, my MIL’s funeral costs – OMFG. It was not up to me, but I thought the amount spent on embalming, casket, vault, church service, funeral home services, hearse, flowers, the whole 9 yards – was obscene. But it wasn’t my funeral, my mother or my money, so if it helped my husband feel like he was doing the appropriate thing, so be it.
He/she needs to hire an CPA, to size up the estate. Especially difficult issue: the royalties on the books.
A smart Executor will get those books re-issued, in a new edition, to increase the value of an Estate, and to preserve & honor your Grandfather’s literary legacy to the World. Did your Grandfather have a literary agent? He/she could be of great help in this.
Use the will you have, but use the above hints to try and find a more recent one. In our family, our trusts all state that surviving spouses take all. Maybe his will is similar.
Peace and strength to you all- death of a loved one can be difficult at best, and harder when things are in disarray.
Can I make a quick pitch for everone to be sure that their own affairs are in order before something tragic happens, and do the same for parents and/or grandparents? It is the best last gift you can give to the people you love.
I went through something similar when my father passed away, except, there was no will at all, and he was divorced. My sister and I were left to deal with everything. We were 20 and 24 years old. It was a huge PITA to get it sorted out. We tried to pay off some income taxes from RRSPs of his and they sent the cheque back. Because it took 3 years to sort out, my sister and I got dinged for $40k of late penalties for income taxes, despite the fact that they promised we wouldn’t when they sent the cheque back.
In your case, there is a will, so that is good. There’s really 3 big things to be concerned about here. His RRSPs, his life insurance polic(ies), and his assets. Your grandmother will likely get anything that’s not mentioned in the will, and the life insurance will go to whoever is listed under his beneficiaries. This is where a lawyer that deals with this kind of thing comes in handy. If you don’t get one, then your grandmother will likely get a lot of people coming after her for money he owed them, which they may or may not be entitled to. Keep in mind that in order to pay off outstanding debts, only his assets can be used. Life insurance DOES NOT go toward outstanding debt.
Anyways, I can talk about this until I’m blue in the face, and I still won’t give you as accurate or as much information as a lawyer would. First, look at the will and get as many facts out of it as you can, then the appropriate person (most likely your grandmother) needs a lawyer. If she doesn’t, she will likely lose more money through getting pushed around than she will by paying a lawyer to help her sort things out. The lawyer will also know exactly who to talk to and how to go about distributing assets. He will also know about any loopholes that can keep debt collectors from legally being able to claim his assets as theirs.
BTW - my condolences to your family. These are always tough times.
The will we found is very simple, and does not mention an executor, just a Person of Influence(? or something similar) who is my grandmother. My poor grandmother can’t even balance her checkbook, much less keep track of his (scattered) assets. That’s why I’m helping out. He has a huge antique machine tool and antique gun collection, which are probably his primary assets. When she sells things of his, I am going to facilitate that because I know people in those communities.
The problem is is that I know he was talking with me about how he was dividing up parts of his estate among his grandchildren, and asked me if there was anything in particular I would like… The fact that he was talking about those things makes us all wonder if there isn’t a new will somewhere. (The one we have is old, before any grandchildren and before his oldest daughter died.)
The law firm that drew up the will we have is gone, there’s a bagel shop there now.
My grandmother has an appointment to see a Legal Aid lawyer next week, hopefully he/she can get us started.
ETA: For some reason, on the Amazon page, there is a Journal of Sex Research book… he didn’t write that one
I would suggest talking to a lawyer who practises in your jurisdiction. A lawyer can help guide you through it all, especially any questions about the 30 year old will. As well, in my jurisdiction, lawyers can advertise to the profession that they’re looking for a lost will - we get a notice every month from the law society, containing adverts with details of the deceased, where they lived, etc., and asking if anyone has drawn up a will for the decease. I don’t know if that service is available in your jurisdiction, but you could ask your lawyer.
