Dealing with a loved one's death is hard enough without having to worry about executing their will. If you have been charged with this big responsibility, you should hire a probate lawyer to work with right away. Here is what to expect while working with your attorney to execute your loved one's will:
You Have to Wait for the Green Light
As the executor of your loved one's will, your lawyer must verify the will and notify the probate court that it is valid. Once that happens, you will have to wait until the court gives the green light to go ahead and start processing the will. This can take just a couple of days, but it can also take weeks or even months depending on the size of the will and whether any objections to the will have been made.
The court will ensure that there are no discrepancies before they will allow the will to be administered as written. For example, if a family member contests any part of the will, the court will hash it out before they authorize the will. There may be no court dates to attend at all, or there might be several. So be prepared to play a waiting game before you can even start administering the will.
You Will Need to Make Notifications
After the court says that it is alright to start administering your loved one's will, you will be expected to notify any heirs and debtors that are involved. Anyone and any entity receiving a piece of your loved one's estate should be notified by mail when their inheritance will be processed and when the inheritance should be received by.
If it is not possible to notify people or entities personally by mail, a notice can be posted in a newspaper that is local to the heirs you are trying to communicate with. Only after notifications are made can the real work of administering the will be started.
You Should Be Very Patient
Unless done beforehand, you will have to assess the value of anything in the will before it is given to the heirs. Valuing some things, like a bank account, is easy to do. But jewelry, artwork, and other valuable items might have to be appraised by a professional so they can be properly documented when administering the will.
Then there is the task of getting all the assets to the heirs in a timely fashion while carefully documenting every step that is taken. The process can be long and time-consuming, so you should expect to practice patience throughout, or you may find yourself overly stressed and irritated by the time the process comes to an end.
Luckily, your probate lawyer will take care of much of the legwork for you. And they will be happy to walk you through the steps you have to take yourself, so the process is stress-free and effective when all is said and done.
