You could be responsible for paying debts and taxes and other things to know if you're sorting out the finances of a loved one's estate
A “financially comfortable” loved one has passed away, and you’re the one handling the aftermath. Unless you’ve done this before, you may grossly underestimate the magnitude of the task. This column identifies things you might need to consider above and beyond all the tax issues covered in these threeearliercolumns.
First things first: do you need a professional executor? Maybe. If the decedent was wealthy with complicated financial affairs, hiring a professional executor might be a good idea for that reason alone. It takes some of the heat off you. Must the estate go through probate? Hopefully not. Many well-off individuals and married couples put their most valuable assets into a revocable trust . Reason: to avoid probate. If the decedent failed to take that step, probate is in the cards.
Married couple’s revocable trust probably needs updating If the decedent was married, a revocable trust may have been set up to hold the couple’s most important assets and thereby avoid probate for those assets. Both spouses are usually named as co-trustees. If so, the trust may have to be amended to eliminate the decedent as a co-trustee and add a new co-trustee to help the surviving spouse manage the trust’s assets. That new co-trustee may be you.
Another thing to consider: Dealing with the family abode We are not done yet if there is a family abode in the picture. If the high-end home that must now be sold was lived in for many years, you’ll probably discover that there are many years’ worth of “stuff” packed into the place. All of that stuff must now find a new home. Some of it might be valuable. If there’s lots of valuable stuff that other interested parties won’t take off your hands , you may want to hire an estate liquidator. For stuff that’s not so valuable, consider an “estate sale” which may be just a glorified garage sale.
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