What You Should Do After a Loved One Passes Away
Throughout our lives, we accumulate bank and investment accounts, income sources and debt, memberships, insurance policies, utilities, and various personal services. When we die, sometimes unexpectedly, family members or executors must deal with advising all who may be affected by our passing.
Properly closing out an estate demands more than just making sure all beneficiaries receive their shares according to the expressed desires of the deceased. If you are the Executor or administrator of a will in New Jersey, you should become aware of all responsibilities involved in closing out the estate.
Executors undertake many duties while assuring the proper division of assets according to the wishes of the deceased. The responsibilities must be performed in accordance with the laws of the state in which the testator resided.
If the person had died without a will, the court would identify an administrator to manage the estate with the same responsibilities as a named executor.
When creating their will, an individual has the option to distribute assets to whomever they choose.
As we know, testators do not always elect to assign their assets in conventional ways. For example, one may choose to leave their wealth with an animal welfare society or other charity or to a close friend rather than to their children.
Sometimes the execution of a will does not go as smoothly as the deceased person and, most likely, the executor would have hoped. At times, a relative or someone close to the decedent may contest a will believing that their share of assets stipulated by the will must be wrong.
When a parent passes, the executor and the children of the deceased may face several challenges while liquidating the assets of the estate. While some aspects can be somewhat perplexing, an experienced estate attorney will help to smooth the way.
