On 8/11/2014 10:38 AM, Janet wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>> Sounds very unscrupulous. Mom's lawyer didn't charge an exhorbitant
>> amount for handling the probate. Then again, it didn't amount to much
>> work on his part. Her Will very clearly defined the division of monies
>> and property. All he had to do was file it with the court.
>
> Either your mother's estate was minimal/ very simple to administer, or
> the task of Executor is very different in the USA. Here, executing a
> will is lots more work than just "file the will with the court".
>
> Here, as a minimum, the executor has to locate, notify, list and get
> professionally valued all the assets of the deceased, (everything from
> their home/car to their furniture, belongings, stocks, insurances, bank
> accounts etc) and also find, notify, and settle any debts/tax
> liabilities; set up a separate bank account into which financial assets
> are collected and from which to settle debts and taxes. If property is
> to be sold or passed on he is responsible for its care, insurance and
> maintenance meanwhile.
>
> Having settled the estate's value he then has to distribute bequests to
> the beneficiaries. ( Or break the bad news that liabilities/costs
> exceeded assets and there's nothing left to inherit).
>
> All that is assuming there are no legal disputes/challenges (from
> creditors or beneficiaries or family over ownership/valuation of assets
> etc), which may require him to attend court. I've seen bitter family
> members obstructing Executors for years, deliberately running up
> Executor's costs in some Dog in Manger attempt to shrink assets left to
> someone else.
>
> Janet UK
>
It's the same here, Janet. I worked in New Jersey, a state whose
statutes were based on English common Law, having been one of the
original colonies.
I have had to comb through 10 years of income tax returns looking for
assets, often finding a deduction for a safe deposit box that no one had
the key to that had to be drilled.
The executor also has to file the decedent's final income tax return and
it's a great hunt for documentation of a dead person's.
Most governments place a much higher duty of care upon a non-family
member executor or administrator than on an ordinary person. I have,
personally, worked up law suits on such entities as Citibank for
improperly handling a trust to the benefit of the income beneficiary and
detriment of the remainderman. I have sued a hospital for failing to
keep the name of the donor on a clinic. I have gone to court to defend a
trust. I took the role of fiduciary very seriously. After all someone
had appointed my employers as their representative on this earth. It
was a solemn responsibility.
Also the job was lots of fun. I felt like Nancy Drew hunting up clues. :-)
--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas