| you will save yourself and your family a lot of unnecessary expense.
There are many ways to establish your assets prior to death that would help your family avoid the expense of probate. First and foremost, it will be the executor’s task to decide whether probate court proceedings are needed. However, probate is an entirely different matter that needs to be address in another article. Let’s look at some of the duties we may not be familiar with that are undertaken by an executor.
Giving Notice
Usually the Funeral Director orders as many certified copies of the death certificate as you request. Sometimes, they even notify the Social Security Administration too.
Here is a list of institutions that the executor needs to contact in order to learn whether they want certified copies of the death certificate:
a.) Every insurance company that insured the decedent (life, health, auto, home)
b.) Decedent’s pension fund
c.) Each credit card company used by decedent
d.) Every financial institution (banks, brokers)
e.) Government agencies (Social Security, IRS, Medicare, Veterans Affairs)
f.) Title company that insured decedent’s real estate
You can usually order extra copies of the death certificate from the bureau of vital statistics in your state. If the decedent owned property in another state, then a death certificate may need to be recorded in the county where that property is located. In many states, the death certificate is recorded along with the deed of transfer.
Other Duties
An executor has a number of duties, the complexity of which depends upon the deceased person’s estate. Typically, an executor must:
Locate and secure the deceased person's assets and then sensibly manage them during the probate |
