Overview of Executor Responsibilities
Below is a starting point for issues related to the responsibilities of an Executor of an Estate.
The partial list does not include special situations, for example, if the deceased was the Owner of a Company.
It is best to seek the guidance of a qualified attorney when there are questions arising from Probate.
Probate is the term for a legal process. The Will is reviewed by a Court to determine whether it is valid and authentic. One issue to a Will is if the Will is 'challenged' by someone related to the deceased.
Probate also refers to the administration of the Will of the deceased.
If the deceased did not have a Will the term is intestate.
If the deceased did not appointment someone, or if there is no living person willing/competent to undertake the duties of executor, then the court will appointment someone in an official capacity. There is a cost for this.
General Responsibilities: (these are not in order and actions may occur simultaneously.)
Locate all legal documents including will and trust documents.
Notify: (this is partial list)
Family of deceased. Assist in making appropriate arrangements for dependents.
Banks/financial institutions/investment groups
Government agencies(for example social security administration
Credit card companies
Religious affiliations of deceased
Pension organizations
Legal and financial adviser
In each category there may be certain guidelines to be followed and certain letters to be written and forms to be filed.
Hire/consult with attorney. If there are trust documents, contact the attorney who created the trust(s) whenever possible.
Apply for Probate. The Probate process can differ depending on jurisdiction.
Create detailed inventory of the estate of the deceased
Obtain valuation of the estate
Assist to manage issues of funeral planning and payments. Close family members may assist with this, however the wishes of the deceased are to be followed.
Manage Property of the deceased. This includes securing physical property such as house, rental property, timeshare, vacation property, automobile, boat, etc.
With valuable collections,e.g. artwork or important wine collections, the process of securing and maintaining the collection safely is paramount.
Notify utility companies; subscription companies, etc.
Arrange for pets, livestock, etc.
Access all digital assets of deceased whenever possible, e.g. bitcoin accounts
Manage social media accounts whenever possible
Establish banking procedures for estate. It is not advisable to co-mingle funds from the estate with personal funds
Notification of interested parties. This includes those named in will and others who might have a valid claim as beneficiary
Locate and notify creditors
Pay valid claims of creditors. There are timelines to accomplish this.
Determine if the deceased co-signed on a loan (for example a student loan) or mortgage
Locate any entity who may owe money to the estate e.g. did deceased loan money to an individual.
Locate and notify heirs
File Tax returns of the estate. There are time lines for this.
Disclosure to the beneficiaries of proceedings
Distribute assets (if any) to beneficiaries. In the case of an insolvent estate*, valid creditors are paid first
Disposal of remaining assets that are not distributed
Remember...
Probate procedures can vary by State.
There are time restrictions on many of the items.
There are specific documents to be filed with the Probate Court within specified periods. Probate is a legal process.
It is advisable to have a legal professional review your decisions and answer your questions.
* In a situation where there are inadequate funds to pay all debts of an estate, the estate in deemed insolvent. Consult with a legal adviser in this situation.
It is advisable to consult with an experienced attorney if the deceased owned a business.
The above is only a general guideline.
It is beyond the scope of this article to identify specific details in each situation.
When in doubt, consult with a legal professional.
Questions? Call or text Barbara Ann Dalvano 719-963-2933
Below is a starting point for issues related to the responsibilities of an Executor of an Estate.
The partial list does not include special situations, for example, if the deceased was the Owner of a Company.
It is best to seek the guidance of a qualified attorney when there are questions arising from Probate.
Probate is the term for a legal process. The Will is reviewed by a Court to determine whether it is valid and authentic. One issue to a Will is if the Will is 'challenged' by someone related to the deceased.
Probate also refers to the administration of the Will of the deceased.
If the deceased did not have a Will the term is intestate.
If the deceased did not appointment someone, or if there is no living person willing/competent to undertake the duties of executor, then the court will appointment someone in an official capacity. There is a cost for this.
General Responsibilities: (these are not in order and actions may occur simultaneously.)
Locate all legal documents including will and trust documents.
Notify: (this is partial list)
Family of deceased. Assist in making appropriate arrangements for dependents.
Banks/financial institutions/investment groups
Government agencies(for example social security administration
Credit card companies
Religious affiliations of deceased
Pension organizations
Legal and financial adviser
In each category there may be certain guidelines to be followed and certain letters to be written and forms to be filed.
Hire/consult with attorney. If there are trust documents, contact the attorney who created the trust(s) whenever possible.
Apply for Probate. The Probate process can differ depending on jurisdiction.
Create detailed inventory of the estate of the deceased
Obtain valuation of the estate
Assist to manage issues of funeral planning and payments. Close family members may assist with this, however the wishes of the deceased are to be followed.
Manage Property of the deceased. This includes securing physical property such as house, rental property, timeshare, vacation property, automobile, boat, etc.
With valuable collections,e.g. artwork or important wine collections, the process of securing and maintaining the collection safely is paramount.
Notify utility companies; subscription companies, etc.
Arrange for pets, livestock, etc.
Access all digital assets of deceased whenever possible, e.g. bitcoin accounts
Manage social media accounts whenever possible
Establish banking procedures for estate. It is not advisable to co-mingle funds from the estate with personal funds
Notification of interested parties. This includes those named in will and others who might have a valid claim as beneficiary
Locate and notify creditors
Pay valid claims of creditors. There are timelines to accomplish this.
Determine if the deceased co-signed on a loan (for example a student loan) or mortgage
Locate any entity who may owe money to the estate e.g. did deceased loan money to an individual.
Locate and notify heirs
File Tax returns of the estate. There are time lines for this.
Disclosure to the beneficiaries of proceedings
Distribute assets (if any) to beneficiaries. In the case of an insolvent estate*, valid creditors are paid first
Disposal of remaining assets that are not distributed
Remember...
Probate procedures can vary by State.
There are time restrictions on many of the items.
There are specific documents to be filed with the Probate Court within specified periods. Probate is a legal process.
It is advisable to have a legal professional review your decisions and answer your questions.
* In a situation where there are inadequate funds to pay all debts of an estate, the estate in deemed insolvent. Consult with a legal adviser in this situation.
It is advisable to consult with an experienced attorney if the deceased owned a business.
The above is only a general guideline.
It is beyond the scope of this article to identify specific details in each situation.
When in doubt, consult with a legal professional.
Questions? Call or text Barbara Ann Dalvano 719-963-2933
Median Retirement Savings by Age Group *
Saving for retirement requires a focus on the long term. It means setting realistic goals and adhering to a budget that discriminates between “need” and “want”.
Saving requires discipline. Most articles about retirement state that Americans are falling behind in their retirement savings goals.
Below is a chart showing Actual versus Recommended savings.
Compare your current financial situation and explore some of the actions you can take to get on track, using suggestions at the bottom of the table.
Age Group Actual Savings* Recommended Savings
20’s $16,000 no set recommendation, but this is a time to set goals and establish retirement savings account
30’s $45,000 equivalent of annual salary
40’s $63,000 3 X salary
50’s $117,000 4-5 X salary
60’s $172,000 6 X salary
Below are some suggestions to reach the ‘recommended’ savings goals:
Contribute to 401K or establish individual retirement account
Manage and analyze investments
Downsize
Track expenses
Set realistic financial goals
Maintain vacation fund rather than using savings for a holiday
Seek out free activities to attend in your community
Maintain healthy lifestyle to avoid high medical costs
Ditch the plastic, especially the high interest credit cards
Try to pay credit card bills in full each month
Make purchase decisions on “need” versus “want”
Know your FICO score and restore good credit
* Sources: Economic Policy Institute; Investopedia
The Growing Importance of Your Digital Legacy
The importance of your digital legacy is expanding exponentially. That importance tracks the developments of the internet. The timeline below of some significant events affecting the growth of digital technology shows the rapid innovations.
Each decade has seen an increase in the amount/volume of your digitally held and your digitally transmitted personal data.
What makes digital data so important? Much of it can be confidential, like emails; financial and health information.
Some data may have significant value, such as online brokerage accounts or ‘bitcoin’ wallets; accessible only through passwords.
Estate Planning should accommodate the realities of how much of your digital legacy will be made available and by whom.
Brief Timeline of Digital Information
1950’s –
The importance of your digital legacy is expanding exponentially. That importance tracks the developments of the internet. The timeline below of some significant events affecting the growth of digital technology shows the rapid innovations.
Each decade has seen an increase in the amount/volume of your digitally held and your digitally transmitted personal data.
What makes digital data so important? Much of it can be confidential, like emails; financial and health information.
Some data may have significant value, such as online brokerage accounts or ‘bitcoin’ wallets; accessible only through passwords.
Estate Planning should accommodate the realities of how much of your digital legacy will be made available and by whom.
Brief Timeline of Digital Information
1950’s –
- Technological Evolution of computers – machines becoming smaller and faster and personal computers becoming more available
1960’s – - J.C.R. Licklider of MIT discussed his "Galactic Network" concept : globally interconnected computers which could quickly access data and programs from any site. His concept envisioned the Internet of today.
- Development of personal computers and workstations allowed the Internet to flourish
- Local area networks (LANS) develop to Wide Area Networks (WANS)
1970’s -
- Computer scientist Ray Tomlinson introduces electronic mail
- Vint Cerf heralded as father of the internet. The TCP/IP Protocols become the standards allowing improved computer file/data downloads
1980’s -
- The word internet is used for the first time
- Domain Name System (DNS) invented by Paul Mockapetris
- Domains like .com; .org; .gov; .edu being established as part of the network address
- Quantum Computer Service makes its debut offering email and news. The company to become AOL.
- From 1980’s to 1990’s a series of self- replicating viruses infect computers.Frederick Cohen coins the word “virus” to describe the problem.
- Dial-up internet service begins.
- The world wide web makes its debut following the research by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee in Switzerland. Documents can be moved/connected across users using hypertext
1990’s –
- Java programming language debuts
- Usage of internet reaches 45 million
- The term weblog is coined – now known as blog
- Music sharing over the internet becomes possible
- World wide web users reaches 150 million by end of the decade
- E-commerce spreads
- The term “malware” coined by Yisrael Radia. (Malware is short for malicious software)
2000’s –
- Self -replicating viruses erupt on the internet
- NASDAQ stocks plummet as investment capital funding plunges
- Failure of many .com companies
- Spam becomes a menace as servers become clogged with unsolicited email
- Internet Worm infects 1 in 12 emails
- Online spending reached $117 billion
- Youtube.com is launched
- 92 million websites online including whitehouse.gov
- Hacking becomes prevalent and companies begin to deal with security breaches
- The term App emerges – short for Application Program- and Apps proliferate
- The IoT develops – the internet of things - increased machine-to-machine communication; based on cloud computing and networks of sensors that gather data.
- Smart cars, smart grids and tracking devices prevalent.
- Virtual reality and instant connectivity. Machines that “talk” to each other.
- According to some estimates – 50 billion ‘things’ will be connected to the internet
- 40% of world population has an internet connection
The above is a very brief historical timeline (developed from many various sources-via the internet, of course).
The names and periods can be argued.
However, the significance of the ‘leaps’ of information technology cannot be argued.
More information is becoming available and more data is being retained and stored.
Within their estate plan, it is critical that each individual consider how much of that personal stored information should be accessed and by whom.