Florida probate lawyers often hear from individuals who were named as an Executor in a loved one’s will and are now struggling to understand their role, responsibilities, and what to do next to close out the estate. Sometimes we hear from folks who didn’t even know they were appointed to serve as their loved one’s Executor until after he or she died and the will was discovered by the family!
The truth is that being named an Executor of someone’s estate is both an honor and a burden, but that burden can be made exponentially worse when the Executor doesn’t have the right information or guidance when dealing with the Hillsborough County probate court.
If you have been named the Executor of someone’s estate, here are a few places where we’d recommend you focus your efforts on as you start the process of closing out your loved one’s final affairs:
- Contact a Probate Lawyer
A lot of people hope to handle the probate process on their own without the help of an attorney, but in many cases, this is a mistake. As an Executor, you can be held liable for any mistakes or oversights by the beneficiaries of the estate. Working with a probate attorney from the start helps to ensure that you are fulfilling all of your legal obligations and abiding by all required deadlines. An experienced probate lawyer will also handle the more challenging and frustrating responsibilities of the estate administration process (taxes, accounting, etc.) so that you can focus on your family during a time of grief.
- Locate the Last Will and Testament
The Last Will and Testament must be filed with the probate court to start the probate proceedings. Many times, the lawyer who originally drafted the document will keep the original copy of the Last Will and Testament. If not, the original may be kept somewhere secure like a home safe or a safety deposit box. In any case, though, an estate administration will stop in its tracks if the Last Will and Testament cannot be located.
- Set up an estate bank account
Once the Last Will and Testament has been filed and accepted in the probate court, you will receive legal documents that allow you to access bank accounts and set up a new estate bank account. The best practice is to close all of the other accounts and move them all into the estate account, which gives you one easy place to track the estate’s finances and pay any bills or debts.
These are just some of the steps you’ll need to take to start the process of closing out a loved one’s final affairs. If you have any questions about settling an estate as an executor, or if you’d like the assistance of a Hillsborough County probate attorney to take over some of the duties you’ve been tasked with, please contact us at (813) 438-8503 to set up a consultation.