The first month as an executor: a checklist
Someone has died and left you in charge. Here's what usually comes first, in the order it comes.
Nothing about an estate has to be done in the first week except looking after the family and the funeral. After that, a few things are worth doing early, because the rest depends on them.
Find the original will
Look in the house, the safe deposit box and the files of any lawyer the person used. The court needs the original, not a copy.
Order death certificates
Ask the funeral home for several official copies. Banks, insurers and the court each want one.
Secure the house and the mail
Lock up, keep the insurance in force, and forward the mail to yourself so you see the bills and statements as they come.
Qualify as executor
Until the court has qualified you, you can't act for the estate. Qualifying usually means an appointment at the clerk's office of the circuit court, with the will, a death certificate and a list of what the estate roughly owns.
Open an estate bank account
With the court's papers and a tax number for the estate, open an account in the estate's name. Pay the estate's bills from it, never from your own money.
- Find the original will
- Order official copies of the death certificate
- Secure the house, the car and the mail
- Qualify at the clerk's office
- Get a tax number and open an estate account
- Keep every receipt
After that come the notices, the inventory and the accounts, each with its own deadline. We take executors through them one flat-fee phase at a time.