{"id":845,"date":"2016-09-17T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flestatelaw.com\/?p=845"},"modified":"2019-05-13T18:13:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T18:13:47","slug":"to-do-list-for-after-a-loved-one-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/2016\/09\/17\/to-do-list-for-after-a-loved-one-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"To-Do List for After a Loved One Dies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\tIf you&#8217;ve been appointed an executor of a loved one&#8217;s estate, or a successor trustee, and that person dies, your grief \u2013 not to mention your to-do list, including tasks ranging from planning the funeral, coordinating relatives coming in from out of town and (eventually) meeting with a trust administration or probate lawyer \u2013 can be quite overwhelming. First and foremost, take care of yourself during this emotional time.<\/p>\n<p>To help you with the \u201cbusiness\u201d end of things, here\u2019s a quick checklist of crucial details that will make the trip to our office to handle the legal affairs easier. I know it can be difficult, but some of these things have a deadline, so make sure that you reach out sooner rather than later:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Secure the deceased&#8217;s personal property (vehicle, home, business, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>Notify the post office.<\/li>\n<li>If the deceased wrote an ethical will, share that with the appropriate parties in a venue set aside for the occasion. You may even want to print it and make copies for some individuals.<\/li>\n<li>Get certified copies of the death certificate. You&#8217;ll need them for some upcoming tasks.<\/li>\n<li>Notify the Social Security office.<\/li>\n<li>Take care of any Medicare details that need attention.<\/li>\n<li>Contact the deceased&#8217;s employer to find out about benefits dispensation.<\/li>\n<li>Stop health insurance and notify relevant insurance companies. Terminate any policies no longer necessary. You may need to wait to actually cancel the policies until after you\u2019ve \u201cformally\u201d taken over the estate, but you can often get the necessary paperwork started before that time.<\/li>\n<li>Get ready to meet with a qualified probate and trust administration attorney. Depending on the circumstances, a probate may be necessary. Even if a probate is not needed, there is work that needs to be done to administer the trust properly. Here\u2019s what you need to gather:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The deceased\u2019s will and trust<\/strong>. If the original of the deceased\u2019s will or trust can\u2019t be located, contact us as soon as possible and bring any copies you do have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A list of the deceased\u2019s bills and debts<\/strong>. It\u2019s often easier to bring the statements or the actual credit cards into the office rather than try to write out a list, but do whatever is easiest for you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A list of the deceased\u2019s financial advisors, insurance agent, tax professional, and other professional advisors. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A list of the deceased\u2019s surviving family members, including their contact information when available<\/strong>. Even if they\u2019re not named in the trust, the attorney will need to know about everyone in the family.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Cancel your loved one&#8217;s driver&#8217;s license, passport, voter&#8217;s registration, and club memberships.<\/li>\n<li>Close out email and social media accounts, and shut down websites no longer needed. Depending on circumstances, to take these steps, you may need to wait until you\u2019ve \u201cformally\u201d taken over the estate, but you can often learn the procedures and be ready to take action.<\/li>\n<li>Contact your tax preparer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You may be thinking about handling all the paperwork yourself. It\u2019s a tempting thought \u2013 why not keep things as simple as possible? \u2013 but a \u201cDIY\u201d approach to this process might cost you and your family dearly. Read on to understand why.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Consequences of Mishandling an Estate: Examples from Real Life<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Example #1: Failing to disclose assets to the IRS. <\/strong>Lacy Doyle, a prominent art consultant in New York City, inherited a large estate when her father passed away in 2003. He allegedly left her $4 million, but she only disclosed fewer than $1 million in assets when she filed the court documents for the estate. Per the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/new-york\/nyc-crime\/art-consultant-swiss-bank-avoid-paying-millions-taxes-article-1.2730301\">New York Daily News<\/a>: \u201cShe opened an \u2018undeclared Swiss bank account for the purpose of depositing the secret inheritance from her father\u2019 in 2006 \u2014 using a fake foreign foundation name to conceal her identity\u2026 [she also] didn&#8217;t report her interest in the hidden accounts \u2014 nor the income they generated \u2014 from 2004 to 2009.\u201d As a result of these alleged shenanigans and Doyle\u2019s failure to report the accounts to the IRS, she was arrested, and she now faces a <em>six-year<\/em> prison sentence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example #2: Misusing power of attorney<\/strong>. Another famous case of an improperly handled estate involved the son of famous New York socialite, Brooke Astor. Her son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/10\/14\/nyregion\/14astor.html\">misusing his power of attorney<\/a> and other crimes. Per a fascinating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/anthony-marshall-son-who-stole-from-mother-philanthropist-brooke-astor-dies\/2014\/12\/01\/2064c446-48bf-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html\">Washington Post obituary<\/a>: \u201cIn 2009, Mr. Marshall was convicted of grand larceny and other charges related to the attempted looting of his mother\u2019s assets while she suffered from Alzheimer\u2019s disease. He received a sentence of one to three years in prison but, afflicted by congestive heart failure and Parkinson\u2019s disease, was medically paroled in August 2013 after serving eight weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Seek professional counsel<\/strong> to avoid even the appearance of impropriety when handling an estate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bear in mind that errors of omission and accident can be costly \u2013 even if your intent was good<\/strong>. An executor who makes distributions from an estate too soon can get into serious trouble, for instance. An executor\u2019s personal assets can wind up in jeopardy if his or her actions cause an estate to become insolvent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Even if you\u2019re well organized and knowledgeable about probate and estate law, it\u2019s surprisingly hard to anticipate what can go wrong<\/strong>. There are many ways to end up in hot water when you\u2019re handling the estate or trust of a loved one.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>We\u2019re here to help you steer clear of the obstacles and free you to focus on yourself and your family during this difficult time. Contact Goodwin Law, P.A.\u00a0for assistance. We can help you manage estate and trust related concerns as well as point you towards other useful resources.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve been appointed an executor of a loved one&#8217;s estate, or a successor trustee, and that person dies, your grief \u2013 not to mention your to-do list, including tasks ranging from planning the funeral, coordinating relatives coming in from out of town and (eventually) meeting with a trust administration or probate lawyer \u2013 can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[35,30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5666,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions\/5666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localwebdesigncompany.com\/goodwinlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}