All, my father passed away at 90 last week. He is finally at peace. Now the real work begins. I am an only child so the task of dealing with his estate, home and all other financials falls to me. Can any of you offer some tips on what to do next, checklists, what to take care of right away, things you have learned for those who have been through this process? I always turned to this forum when caring for my father. Thank you in advance.
As executor for another with a home to sell and title issues and a will that was too simple for the size of the estate, all was not up to date with probate and I had to wait for a letter of testimony to proceed with selling. That one I could not get closure for 18 months.
I wish you luck with a speedy process. It seems that a month to meet is reasonable. You probably have homework to do before that meeting.
To be honest, the visit to the Registrar of Wills was overwhelming for me. Until then, I thought we were progressing through everything smoothly, Dad had everything in order for us. But suddenly it seemed there was a whole lot more to be done and accounted for.
My sister and I are 50/50 heirs and executors. My BIL has really stepped up for us because he has a greater understanding of everything than either of us. Now we are at a standstill until November with continuing to deal with the estate because a legal notice had to be published to allow anyone with a claim against his estate to file that claim. (This might be what the person in the accident with your dad is supposed to do now that he has passed.)
The Letters of Adminstration were needed by dad's accountant in order to complete the 2023 taxes and by the bank to release CDs and bonds. (Dad's accounts at the bank were set up to become ours upon his death, but apparently that only covered the checking and savings accounts.)
The funeral home probably provided you with a checklist, which is a good starting point, but definitely doesn't cover everything. And, as I'm now learning, the process is long, even though dad had everything as simple as possible.
Get used to accepting everyone's condolences and telling your story a million times. If your dad had an accountant or financial advisor get them to help. You will get 98% of this accomplished with some tedious work but little problem. Know that there will be 2% that is a living nightmare. (In my Dad's sizeable estate everything was seamless except for one $6,000 insurance refund that is making me insane. If it was $60 I'd just ignore it but if I get put on hold one more time......)
The best advice is to stay organized and keep your lists and paperwork updated. And remember there is no way to to get through this except to keep plowing through it. It's hard, especially when you are sad and tired and have no energy, but it will get done, eventually.
Now any WiFi t& cable that can get shut off, if you wanted to. Pls pay attention to precisely what cable company wants returned… like if its still old school box that is in dads home, they will want that sucker back and will charge extra if it’s not. Get a receipt too as cable folks are imho ruthless.
I’d be way waaaaay more concerned on his homeowners insurance policy. Why? Well as of his DoD it is no longer valid. The owner is dead, it’s effectively cancelled. Now for insurance companies to deal with this is somewhat squishy….. some will let it continue to the end of the current paid thru policy period others cancel 100% as of DOD. What is usually done is once it is stopped is to get a Vacant Dwelling Policy for the interim from now to when it sells. The Vacants are NOT cheap and are basically just a fire and theft policy. The State Farm’s, Allstate’s do not underwrite these, so you will have to go with an Independent insurance agent to get one done. They run short term then renewed. If your Realtor are doing open houses and showings, you will have to have something in place just to protect the estate from any liability.
I assume he has no mortgage so there are no fixed & firms on extensive insurance coverage, eg. Flood, windstorm, earthquake… as this will be beyond costly if you can find an underwriter.
Ask the Realtors what degree of experience they have in dealing with property in probate. All States run this a bit differently so having someone with experience in this maze will be worthwhile their commission. If you really truly are absolutely “As Is” and will flat out not be doing any repairs, any painting, new whatever whatsoever, you have to make that beyond clear to your Realtor. I’ve found they tend to want it to be made more market ready and that has costs both directly to your Executor wallet but also in time as you need to make sure work is being done and even b4 this as you should get estimates on projects as otherwise it can become a sticky for a sign off by probate court. Maybe your family is all kumbaya on what happens but greed and flat out misunderstanding of the elders at death true financial picture tends to happen. This forum is littered with pissed at probate tales of woe.
also most States have a defined period of waiting to see what bills exist b4 delving into selling assets or paying off on any bills. Your attorney files a NOC / Notice to Creditors to get the info for this to be done. A lot depends on where your dad’s assets were as to where Notices must be placed. & if your State is one that does “Level of Claim” system to hierarchy in paying debts. If Medicaid was part of how his care was done, that will be an additional complication.
Stay organized and you will be ok.
You may want to go the Lawyer route.
Shut off any utilities that can be cancelled right away - phone, cell phone, cable, Netflix account, internet access. Remember, from this point on, any money spent comes out of your inheritance. Cancel all credit cards. Keep the ATM card if you can find the PIN.
You will want to contact a probate attorney. If the estate is not large, and if you are the only beneficiary, you may be able to get a quick probate from the attorney. They will give you a checklist of what to do. You will do more of the work, but the fee will be lower.
Eventually you will have to deal with selling off his assets, including any cars and all of the home furnishings, but these are all day 2 items.