Who Can Inherit from an Estate?
Determining who inherits the assets of a decedent’s estate is usually simple if the estate has a valid will, because the will sets out who the assets go to. However, wills can be fuzzy if they're not [more…]
Who Should Receive Notification when the Estate Owner Dies?
Sending notifications of the decedent’s death is the estate executor’s responsibility. You should notify all entities as soon as possible, but heirs-at law, beneficiaries, government agencies, creditors [more…]
Does the Estate Need a Temporary Executor?
You may need to apply for temporary executorshipif the estate plan documents show that the decedent’s estate has assets subject to probate that need immediate action. Temporary executorship can be achieved [more…]
How to Organize the Estate Administration Process
Estate administration is a detailed process with a lot of paperwork and rigid deadlines. The executor of an estate should keep organized and thorough estate records from the decedent’s death onward. Creating [more…]
What Are a Trust's Principal and Income?
A trust has two components, the principal and the income. The principal is all the property that’s available to produce ordinary income like dividends, interest, or rents. As you make payments, some may [more…]
How to Use Investment Advisors Wisely for a Trust
Investment advisors can make your life as trustee easier. They spend all their professional time researching companies and reading balance sheets and annual reports. Their job is to be on top of whatever [more…]
How to Obtain Probate Court Approval of an Estate’s Accounts
Before you can close a decedent’s estate, you need to have your accounts allowed (approved) by the probate court. Check with your local probate court for the exact procedure for allowance of accounts. [more…]
How to File an Estate’s Probate Inventory
The probate court will require the executor of an estate to file an inventory of all the decedent’s assets. Preparing this probate inventory should be the executor’s next step after finding the assets [more…]
How to Pay an Estate’s Final Administration Expenses
As you move toward the end of the estate administration process, you will need to pay the estate’s final administration expenses. This includes paying all remaining attorney and accountant fees. [more…]
How to Prepare Accounts for Allowance by a Probate Court
When preparing accounts for allowance, you will need to choose the accounting form used in your local probate court. Some states require principal and income accounting, and others require receipts and [more…]
How to Formalize Your Selection of an Estate Attorney
After you have researched attorney credentials, interviewed estate lawyers, and discussed pricing, you will be ready to make a final decision on an attorney to assist with the administration of your estate [more…]
How to Obtain Beneficiary Assent when Preparing Accounts for Allowance
In the process of closing the decedent’s estate, while preparing accounts for allowance by the probate court, you will need to obtain the assent (a form of written agreement to the account) of each interested [more…]
Estate Tax Closing Letters and Real Estate Releases of Lien
To close the decedent’s estate, the executor must obtain tax closing letters and releases of lien for real estate. If you filed a Form 706 tax return, you must complete estate tax closing letters before [more…]
How to Liquidate an Estate’s Securities and Real Estate
Liquidating — distributing or selling — estate assets is one of the primary responsibilities of an estate administrator. Liquidation can help to pay the estate’s debts and expenses and make distributing [more…]
What Are Key Bond Terms for a Trust?
Investing in bonds can be one of the safest and easiest ways to invest, yet many people shy away from these investments because they may not understand all the words used in their descriptions. This article [more…]
How to Diversify Mutual Funds for a Trust
In a mutual fund, a group of like-minded investors pool their money, hire an advisor, and allow the advisor to invest the pooled cash in a way that’s been determined by the investors. In exchange for the [more…]
How to Satisfy Cash on Hand Needs for a Trust
As much as you want to maximize the income being earned by the trust’s principal, you need to keep some cash on hand at all times for both expected and unexpected expenses. Expected expenses include scheduled [more…]
How to Manage Real Estate for a Trust
Often, the grantor’s residence may end up in the trust, either during lifetime or after the grantor’s death. Or, the grantor may have held interests in either residential or commercial real estate, either [more…]
How to Manage Small Business Stocks for a Trust
Whether a trust receives small business stock during the grantor’s lifetime or as part of the decedent’s estate rolled into the trust after death, you may find yourself holding a substantial interest in [more…]
How to Diversify Stocks for a Trust
Investing in the stock market is a popular way to produce income from trust principal for the trust’s income beneficiaries. Stocks, sometimes referred to as equities, are ownership interests in corporations [more…]
How to Invest in Bonds for a Trust
Bonds are pieces of loans, packaged by a corporation or a government as investment product. When you purchase a bond, you’re purchasing a piece of someone else’s debt. In exchange for the money you’re [more…]
How to Appraise a Decedent’s Real Estate Holdings
As the executor of an estate, you must value the estate’s real estate holdings at the time of the decedent’s death. You may be able to use the real estate assessment as the value at the date of death. [more…]
How to Appraise an Estate’s Intangible Assets
As the executor of an estate, you must value the estate’s intangible property at the time of the decedent’s death. First compile a complete list of the estate’s intangible property, such as bank and brokerage [more…]
How to Appraise an Estate’s Tangible Assets
As the administrator of an estate, you need to determine the value of the estate’s tangible assets at the time of the decedent’s death. For some tangible assets, you may conduct research to determine the [more…]
Consider Beneficiary Needs and the Trust’s Purpose
Beneficiaries’ needs change over time, and trust investments need to change in relation to them. As the trustee, you have to determine what the trust must do in order to meet those needs. You must keep [more…]
