Settling Estates for Everyone: A Practical Guide and Action Plan to Handle Assets, Benefits, Taxes, Debts, Minors, and Much More

by Ronald Farrington Sharp

Overview

Learn how to prepare your estate and settle the estates of loved ones.

What needs to be done at the death of a loved one? There are four basic steps that must be followed. First is the arrangements for burial or cremation. Then the assets of the deceased have to be inventoried, followed by getting all debts paid and legal requirements met, followed by distributing the assets to the people who are supposed to get them according to the person’s will, trust, or state law. The job can be daunting, expensive, and time-consuming; especially if the deceased had not made proper plans for their estate by setting up a will or trust beforehand. Settling a person’s estate is something most people, other than lawyers, have never done. Help is right here in Settling Estates for Everyone.

This book is a guide for those responsible for wrapping up the personal and financial affairs of the deceased. It is a resource identifying the steps that may need to be taken prior to and after a person’s death, and a practical guide to assist those who must deal with asset collection and disposition, tax and legal issues, applying for benefits such as Social Security, life insurance, Veterans benefits, debts, dealing with issues involving minor children and employment benefit plans. With this book as a guide, the process of administering and wrapping up a deceased’s estate will be much simpler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621537892
Publisher:	Allworth
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	482,771
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ronald Farrington Sharp, Esquire, has practiced family and estate law since 1975 after attending the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law Schools. He has personally prepared over three thousand trusts and is the author of How to Probate for Everyone, Living Trusts for Everyone, and Winning the Divorce War (all from Allworth Press), as well as No Regrets, No Remorse (Poisoned Pen Press). An award-winning mystery writer and sculptor, Sharp is married to the artist Susannah Keith and has three children and three terrific granddaughters. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 If Death Is Imminent 1

1 Legal Incapacity/Mental Incompetency 1

2 Temporary Guardian of Adult 2

3 Powers of Attorney 3

Chapter 2 Actions to Be Taken Immediately After Death 9

1 Who Is in Charge of Decisions Regarding Post-Death Decision-Making? 9

2 Organ Donation 9

3 Body Donation 10

4 Cremation 10

5 Autopsy 11

6 Transporting Deceased Over State Lines 12

7 Who Pays for Funeral and Burial Expenses? 13

8 Planning the Funeral 13

9 Funeral Costs; the FTC Funeral Rule 14

10 Funeral Pricing Checklist 15

11 Prepaid Funeral Contracts: Pros and Cons 16

12 Obituary 17

13 Death Certificates 18

Chapter 3 Who's in Charge of the Estate and Who Does What? 21

1 Dividing Responsibilities; Power of Attorney No Longer Valid. 21

2 Person Named as Executor/Personal Representative/Trustee Refuses to Accept the Job 22

3 Lock the House, Feed the Dog: Preserving the Assets 23

4 Changing Beneficiary Designation if Deceased Was Named 25

5 Canceling or Memorializing Digital Presence 25

6 Minor or Disabled Children, Custody, Child Support, Guardianship 27

Chapter 4 Information Gathering 30

1 Estate Planning Documents 30

2 Handwritten/Holographic Will 30

3 Finding the Will or Trust 31

4 Pour-over Wills 33

5 Lost Documents 34

Chapter 5 Identifying Estate Assets 36

1 Deposit Accounts, Investments, Brokerage 36

2 Passwords to Online Accounts, Computers, Smartphones 37

3 Safe-Deposit Box 37

4 Storage Lockers 38

5 Insurance Policies 39

6 Self-Employed and Small-Business Owners 40

7 Accounting Services 41

8 Employment Benefits, Stock Options, Union Benefits 41

9 Tax Returns 42

10 Accounts Receivable, Land Contracts, Personal Loans 43

11 Loans Made to Children and Other Heirs 44

12 Prenuptial Agreements 45

13 Divorce Decrees, Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) Property Division 45

14 Alimony 46

Chapter 6 How Is a Small Estate Settled? 47

1 Small Estates 47

2 Non-Probate Assets 47

3 Titled Vehicles, Boats, Manufactured Homes, Trailers 48

4 Liens on Titles 49

5 Finding Lost Assets 49

Chapter 7 Debts Owed by the Deceased 52

1 Notify All Known Creditors; Publication of Notice, Trusts, and Probate 52

2 Joint Debts, Cosigners 53

3 Tax Claims, Court-Ordered Fines, and Restitution 54

4 Mortgages 55

5 Land Contracts/Contracts for Deed 56

6 Reverse Mortgages 56

7 Leases as Landlord or Tenant 57

8 Vehicle Leases 59

9 Credit Cards 59

10 Authorized Users of Credit Cards 60

Chapter 8 Paying Debts, Distributing Assets to Heirs 62

1 The Insolvent Estate 62

2 Priority of Claims: Who Gets Paid First 63

3 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 65

Chapter 9 The Probate Court Process 66

1 Will versus Trust 66

2 Probate Process 66

3 Reading of the Will 70

4 Advantages of Probate 70

5 Settling an Estate with a Revocable Trust 71

6 Testamentary Trusts versus. Living Trusts 71

7 A Living Trust Is Not a Will 73

Chapter 10 The Trust Settlement Process 74

1 Get an Employer Identification Number 74

2 Beneficiary Accounts 74

3 Transfer on Death Deeds; Ladybird Deed 75

4 Real Estate in Other States; Ancillary Probate 75

5 Time-shares 76

6 Search for and Identify Other Assets and Debts 76

7 Liquidate Assets, Pay Allowable Claims, Distribute Assets to Heirs 77

8 The Trust or Estate Bank Account 77

9 Personal Property-Who Gets the Stuff and How to Decide 78

10 Estate Sales, Appraisals, One-of-a-Kind Items 79

Chapter 11 Veterans' Benefits 81

1 Burial and Memorial Benefits 81

2 Burial in Arlington National Cemetery 81

3 Headstones, Markers, Memorial Flags, Medallions 82

4 Veteran's Pensions and Life Insurance 82

Chapter 12 Social Security Survivors' Benefits 83

1 How to Apply 83

2 Immediate Cash Payment 84

3 Who Is Entitled to Benefits as a Survivor? 84

4 How Much Are Survivors' Benefits? 84

5 How Are Benefits Paid? 85

6 Disability Payments, Divorce 85

Chapter 13 Death Taxes 87

1 Estate Taxes 87

2 State Inheritance Tax 87

3 Estate Income Tax 88

4 Decedent's Last Income Tax 89

5 Probate Costs and Fees 89

Chapter 14 Wrapping Up the Estate; Distribution of Assets to Heirs 91

1 Accounting to Heirs and Courts of Assets, Fees, and Expenses 91

2 Early or Partial Distributions to Heirs 92

3 UTMA or UGMA Accounts 93

Chapter 15 Attorneys 95

1 Fees, Hourly, Flat Rate, Percentage 95

2 Is an Attorney Needed or Required? 96

Chapter 16 What You Should Do to Make Your Own Estate Easy, Quick, and Inexpensive to Administer 98

Form Letters and Sample Forms 100

Appendices 120

Index 187