When the time comes to execute someone’s estate, it’s important to get it right. Errors could cause distress for the family, delay the distribution of assets, waste money from the estate and waste your time too.
You’ll have a lot to learn, so slow and steady is the aim here. Rushing headfirst into things without the appropriate preparation could be costly. While you should start as soon as possible, you need to remember that the aim is to do things properly, not as fast as possible.
Start with some lists
Whether you handwrite these or input them into an Excel spreadsheet, you’ll need to make several lists. A list of all the people to contact, a list of all the assets and a master list of the steps to tick off. Working from a list reduces the chance of an oversight.
Get help to value things if needed
Proper valuation of assets is crucial, especially when the instructions require you to sell something and split the profits between beneficiaries. Just because the deceased told you they picked up the painting on the wall for $50 does not mean it is still worth that. It might now be worth much more. Maybe it always was, but the seller did not realize it.
No one is expecting you to have all the answers
The deceased trusted you to do the right thing. They didn’t expect you to know all the answers. If paying for professional help ensures that things go smoothly and efficiently, then it’s money (the estate’s money) well spent.
