Executor's Guide, The: Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust [Paperback]

The step-by-step guide to serving as an executor

If you need to wrap up the affairs of a loved one, you might feel overwhelmed—especially when you’re grieving. But you can do it, and this book will show you how.

The Executor’s Guidewill lead you through the unfamiliar territory of legal procedures and terminology. You’ll learn what to do right away and what can wait. Find help on:

• preparing for the job of executor
• claiming life insurance, Social Security, and other benefits
• making sense of a will (and what to do if there is no will)
• determining whether probate is necessary
• filing taxes
• navigating probate court proceedings
• dealing with family members, and
• working with lawyers, appraisers, accountants, and other experts.

The 10th edition contains updated tables outlining key points of each state’s laws.

Applies in all states except Louisiana.

USTying up loose ends after someone’s death can seem daunting, but the step-by-step guidance ofThe Executor’s Guidecan help make the job feel manageable. Millions of baby boomers are currently (or will soon be) serving as executors, and this book shows them exactly what to do.Millions of baby boomers are currently (or will soon be) serving as executors, and this book shows exactly what to do to make the job manageable. Mary Randolph, an editor at Nolo, a publisher of do-it-yourself legal guides and author ofThe Executor's Guide, says it is a good idea to get a lawyer to help unwind a trust, especially if it will hold a significant amount of money. Trust owners can take some steps on their own--for example, going to a bank to change ownership of a trust-owned bank account back into their names as individuals. But if the trust holds a business or another asset, that could be more complicated. If you've got some money to spend on attornelƒ›