Mom passed away suddenly a couple of days ago from a massive aneurysm. :( We see our lawyer to begin the estate process next week. I have a couple of quick questions to help us make decisions before then.
Will the executor have access to money from accounts soon (CDs, savings, annuities) to pay basic bills? Or do all of those things need to be paid out of our pocket and reimbursed at the end of the probate process? Cremation, house bills, pay off credit card, empty storage unit (taking all stored furniture to house for the estate sale), etc.
Brother and I are planning how to do this. I understand that an EIN will be given the executor, and a checking account opened, but also understand the court needs to approve all expenses before they are reimbursed.
It seems that if an account that can pay those expenses directly will be opened within, say, a month, it would be better to incur late fees and pay from that account rather than pay ourselves and have to wait a year for reimbursement from the estate.
I know the lawyer will cover this in our meeting, but there are things due NOW that I am not sure what to do with. I have been trying to read up on this but am not finding a clear answer.
Links to helpful articles welcome! I have a book on order from Amazon too. Thanks!
You cannot Probate until so many days after death. My State is 9 or 10 days. The Executor chosen in the Will will file it at Probate. A fee will be paid and the Executor will get a short certificate giving him/her the authority to get to Moms finances. The whole purpose of probate is to find out what money is available and pay any outstanding debts. Things like life insurance policies, annuities and CDs/IRAs have beneficiaries, these are not part of probate. That money goes to the beneficiaries and cannot be used for debts. (Question probate can answer or a lawyer)
The Executor should have no out of pocket expenses. If Mom had a house, the upkeep till its sold comes out of the estate. I was given a list of things I needed to do as Executor. I applied for all Federal and State tax exempt paperwork. I did not get a lawyer involved until my brother refused the house and it needed to be put back into the estate. After that, the lawyer took over the closing of sale of the house and final accting for Probate. His fees and the Title search fees were taken out of the estate. What was left over was what the beneficiaries received.