Organize in file folders and a crate or file box.

Don't be overwhelmed. Work little by little, give yourself time to be away from the work of settling an estate.

Use a spiral tablet to make notes of progress, phone numbers, things to do, etc.

Even if you don't think you need an attorney, it might be wise to just invest in a visit to one to be sure you are on the right track.

LOL--have you been looking over my shoulder? I've done EVERY one of those things. And strongly recommend all of them.

Also--take copious notes--every time you make a call or speak to someone about the estate. Not only is it all a lot to remember, but for at least the first month or two, you're likely to not be at your best (having just lost a loved one).

And tell the other heirs, that things will get done when they get done. Don't let anyone rush you.

for us it's the junk mail! i've written, called, and returned all sorts of stuff...and mom's been gone since 05...

i extended her supplemental health insurance an extra month...don't know if it helped or not but i didn't get any medical bills due (other than co-pays)

know where papers are! even though she was living with me, she had tucked her revised will in a storage bin!

have the funeral home provide at least 5+ death certs...i've used almost all i'd ordered...(7)

income tax...this is one time to go to a person who knows what they're doing!

Susan, I'm curious--what did you need the death certificates for? I ordered 10--which was a waste of money--I've got a stack of them left. Most people I've dealt with want the original of the SHORT certificate (be sure to order at least 5 of those), but only want to see, or a copy of the death certificate. I've found the Short Certs are much more vital. Didn't realize that when I only got 3 of them to start with.

There may be two or three income tax returns to file, here.
--year of death
--estate
--rights or things.

Those, for many people.

The Post Office lady told me that when I return mail in the original envelope, as "Refused - addressee deceased" ...

... that it goes into the waste basket.

Check, though before you accept my word as Gospel!

A small certificate of death cost me nothing at the funeral home, almost a year after Uncle's death ... the phone co. wouldn't let me purloin his phone number until they were assured that he wouldn't be using it any more!

Uncle died three years ago, Aunt just past 5 ... and there's still stuff that comes for them.

When I emailed the political party that they both supported ...

... the Party started sending their propaganda to my email address.

There's no opportunity provided to contact them - communication for them is a one-way street, it appears.

They do provide an opportunity to make contributions, though.

As my landlord said this afternoon - a good many legislators who are elected are good people ... but they find when they get into the political system that they're mighty small cogs in the machine.

That their job is to stand up and be counted when they're told.

And keep quiet in the meantime.

I have been troubled in recent years to see more and more power centralized in the Prime Minister's Office ... managed largely by a bunch of unelected people.

It used to be that Cabinet Ministers would make a number of announcements related to their field of responsibility, but recently they don't say much ... it comes from the Prime Minister's Office.

Do they have a book titled, "Being an Executor of an Estate ... for Dummies" ...

... or should that be, "How to Survive Being an Executor of an Estate ... for Dummies"??

Or possibly, "How to Survive as a Dummy ... Being an Executor of an Estate"?

Quite likely there may be one in the "Self-Counsel Press" line that would be helpful ... but it would need to be one relevant to the country of residence of the deceased.

Good wishes to all of you who are executors: I hope that you find the task not too onerous or complex. And have no greedy or argumentative people related to the estate ... and, certainly *not* ... potentially litigious! Which is asking a lot in the land where litigiousness was nurtured.

ole joyful

I am the executor of my Mother's "estate". She had nothing to leave anyone...but still it has been a royal pain being the executor. I am overwhelmed with all of it. I started out with a file binder, nice and neat...that went into a huge Whole Foods paper bag. All mail and paperwork ended up in there. My sisters and I have 2 lawsuits going and will probably end up having to go to her home state to testify.

My advice? If you know you are going to be the executor, taking notes is crucial. Getting names is crucial. Trust NO ONE! From the funeral home to your least favorite aunt. Snoop, snoop, snoop thru every box, envelope and drawer. Look under and over everything in their house. Remember, as next of kin, you do not have to let anyone in their house to get something "sentimental". I could go on and on...

I was my paren't executor and just finished up a couple of weeks ago. I learned a lot, mostly that the people who did the least for the deceased are the greediest ones.

Even after the estate is paid off and closed, keep a copy of the death certificate. My husband found some old savings bonds and needed his mother's death cert to cash them in.

I'm so lucky--no one's hassled me, nor been too over-the-top greedy. But yes, mammie--the one who did the least, who never had time to visit mom more than twice a year, was the one who had the time to run up here several times the week after mom died to load up her truck with stuff. And she was pretty perturbed when others took stuff she wanted for her 'daughter' (not a blood relative, more of a foster child, with no real ties to mom).

Oh, and that sister was the one who had to take off TWO weeks from work, because she was so distraught and couldn't go in. ? ? ? (Mind you, mom was in her late 80's and had been in poor health for a number of years--her death wasn't a real shock) The rest of us managed to go on with our lives.

You also find out how the deceased felt about people. Mom had her will written so that if one of us died, our children would get their share. BUT she specifically had a provision that if something happened to the above sister, her share would go NOT to her adopted foster kids, but to the rest of us. That said a lot. She had 15 years to change that, and never did. Note that one of the other grandchildren who WAS named in the will WAS adopted. Thank goodness, it didn't come to me having to deal with any of that--but I'd have had no choice but to follow the will's provisions.

DH and I are executors for my aunt- I really dread it- She has a house and basement and a storage unit packed to the rafters with stuff. We will have no idea how to go about dealing with it. She is 95 and doesn't trust anyone. We don't live close otherwise I would see about helping her have a house sale (garage sale, yard sale- whatever you want to call it). It would take a number of sales to make even a dent.

Ditto for me on Mammie's post.

Azzalea and Monica, I am somewhat relieved to know I'm not the only one with selfish turds in the family. LOL

My sister had passed away several years ago and so the estate was split between me and her children. That was fine with me and I had no problem with it, except two of those kids hadn't seen my Mom in about 3 years or even had the time to send a Christmas card or birthday card. Those are the two who nagged me, the Atty. and the Accountant the most. I wish my Mom had left their portion to a charity instead. :)

If someone wants to leave a person out of the will, they must leave $1.00 to that person. That way it is more difficult to contest the will. That is what my folks did with my brother. But after they both passed away, I took the little bit left, divided it in half, put his share in a bank account and sent him so much a month--my choice--other than that, anything recieved would have been gone in 2 minutes.

One of the biggest helps in settling my mother's estate is that she told me everything about her personal affairs--where her money was, what life insurance she had, her investments, what her income was and where it came from, etc. It really was a priceless gift to me from her; it made things so easy. I know not everyone is willing to share like she did, but it helps a great deal. Having a will, and here in CA also a living trust, is important too.

She had a lot of photographs, and she said more than once, "Those pictures are going to be a problem." Now that she's gone, no one wants them, no one wants to throw them away. Mom, as always, you were right!!!

I had my daddy's Power of Attorney, which is null and void after death, and my DH and sister were executor and executrix. He had everything in order and after he died my BFFs husband, who was daddy's stock brokers split all the stock for us, free.
I think I've mentioned here that we were notified that daddy had some unclaimed money with the state of Texas. We pursued it and kept hitting a wall until this man that does that kind of thing for a living took over (for 5%, I think.) We got a check from the state of Texas for $60,000. This was several years after daddy died. So, when you see those "unclaimed money" things, check it out!

If someone wants to leave a person out of the will, they must leave $1.00 to that person.

No, that isn't true here. There is one person we are specifically leaving out of our will, and it only mentions that he is being left out for reasons "deemed appropriate." Ours also has a clause that says if anyone protests their share, they don't get their share and it goes back into the pool for the others to split. (OK, so I'm paraphrasing...but you get the meaning.)

It's not so much that you have to leave them $1, but that you are *safest* if you say something in the will that makes is CLEAR you didn't just accidentally overlook them.

That's why OKwriter's "we are not leaving this person money" and the "to this person, I leave $1" are often suggested. Becaus they make it clear that this is an intentional decision, and there are no grounds to contest it.