If you have your children and your parents in the same house, you are part of the sandwich generation. You are sandwiched in between supporting your children and looking after ageing parents (or them looking after you, depending on who you ask). As your parents age, you must start thinking about how to survive the death of one of them. The death of a loved one is a trying time that can make the details of settling the estate overwhelming. I am not an attorney and do not give legal advice, so consult an estate attorney for that. This is only a checklist to help organize the steps you need to take.
Keep in mind that every estate is different and there may be additional issues that are not addressed in this checklist.
STEP ONE. GATHERING INFORMATION. Before contacting the necessary parties to administer the estate, you will need to collect: Death Certificate, Full Name, Social Security Number, Pre-Paid Funeral Arrangements, Statements and Check Books, Burial Instructions, bio and Estate Planning Documents.
STEP TWO. CONTACT EVERYBODY: Contact Social Security, the Funeral Home, Relatives and Close Friends, Decedent's Attorney, Insurance Companies, Employer and the Veterans Administration or Civil Service Office if they were a member.
STEP THREE. GATHER INFORMATION REGARDING ESTATE ASSETS AND LIABILITIES. This is usually undertaken by the personal representative of the decedent's estate or the successor trustee of the decedent's revocable trust, although a substantial portion of this information may be obtained prior to appointment.
STEP FOUR. IDENTIFY AND VALUE THE DECEDENT'S ASSETS. If they owned the home in their name you will need an appraiser to value the house. A realtor can do a valuation FYI, but it wont be recognized by courts or potential creditors etc.
STEP FIVE. OPEN ADMINISTRATION PROCEEDINGS. You may have to retain a probate attorney and file a petition for probate. The type of petition you file will depend on the circumstances of the estate. If the decedent had a revocable trust, the successor trustee as named in the trust, must be appointed and obtain authority to manage and administer the assets of the trust. Consult your attorney.
STEP SIX. PRESERVE THE ASSETS OF THE ESTATE. The Personal Representative or Successor Trustee must take action to preserve the value of the assets of the probate or trust estate. Some actions include: Taking possession of property, Manage the investment of securities, Maintain insurance, Pay mortgage payments, etc.
STEP SEVEN. DISTRIBUTE AND TRANSFER THE ASSETS; CLOSE THE ESTATE. Pay the debts of the decedent. This process can create liability for the administrator and should be done only with advice from counsel. After the debts are paid, the personal representative or trustee must then determine the identities of the beneficiaries and distribute the proper share to each.
It is important to note that the steps described in this article are basic and space prevents it from going into depth. This checklist is provided only as general information for education purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. You should seek advice from competent legal counsel in your state. Our brokerage has a more detailed description of each step. If you want to receive the more detailed description of each step…AskHollingsworth.