When an owner dies & the probate process

How to get through the "probate" process when we lose a family member. In the middle of coping with a difficult personal situation you find yourself facing an infinite and ever-increasing list of things to resolve. Here's how to get throught it.

Your immediate goal

Get things under control, on the right track, and start the process correctly

Done wrong, you may drag out for years what should only take a few months. You are seeking to establish stability and predictability, and you want to make decisions that result in expediency, lower risk, and peace. Make sure things are done correctly, fairly, and most importantly, legally while avoiding conflict, hassle, and stress. You want to save time and money.

I realize that what I am about to suggest is not what you want to hear, but in all honesty you really need a probate attorney ASAP. Please do everything you can to find someone: through a referral, a recommendation, someone you trust, anything so that there is consequence to their performance. Just talk to people you trust and ask them who they know that might know a good one. We can provide several, just ask.

What you should NOT do immediately

DO NOT notify their bank

Notifying the bank could prematurely trigger additional problems that will require a considerable amount of time, effort, money, and legal support to fix or work around. For example, accounts can be frozen which delay payments and subsequently cause other complications.
DO NOT notify the utility companies

you should not yet notify the utility companies so that power and water are available at the property. Trying to get utilities turned back on after a death can become very complicated
DO NOT let their homeowner’s insurance lapse

Whether the house is still occupied or vacant, you want to make sure there is no lapse in their homeowner’s insurance. One simple reason is that a bank may “force” insurance if it lapses, which could raise the monthly payments as high as 50%. The cost will have to be covered by someone personally, or through the proceeds of a sale. You also don’t want to lose it to fire, flood, natural disaster, or some other accident while its uninhabited or infrequently attended for a period of time
DO NOT give away, sell, or promise any items or assets to loved ones

You should not be distributing any assets until you’ve met with an attorney whose should be doing this. You want to avoid being held financially and legally responsible fo anything broken or missing, fighting with family, and causing others to initiate legal proceedings that cost everyone while complicating the process. Take the direction advised by the attorney to distribute possessions. If someone mentions that they were promised something after death you can note that and verify it in the will or trust.
DO NOT drive their vehicles

Take the direction of the attorney before you drive, loan out, sell, or give away vehicles so that an accident or damage does not delay or cause problems with the closing of the estate. Obviously the current car insurance may also not cover another driver after death.
DO NOT allow other people to move into their house

Don’t set a precedent, delay the process, or add cost or risk by putting yourselves in a position of having to potentially evict a friend or family member from the property.

What you should do IMMEDIATELY

Start getting things done

Do not delay the process, handle things haphazardly, or not handle them at all. The more you wait the higher the likelihood of additional financial and legal obligations, responsibilities, and troubles. In the first 1-2 months following a death you should have met with a probate attorney and gotten help finding estate plan and life insurance documents. Start organizing the bank statements and bills coming in the mail. Find account and property information, along with the contact numbers at the companies and institutions serving the deceased.
Call Social Security and any pension administrator

This will prevent overpayments and taking in additional legal obligations and additional fines and fees. Social Security is aggressive and will not let extra payments slide. They will find a way to get their money back. If the decedent was receiving pension benefits it’s important to call their pension as soon as possible. To avoid overpayments, legal obligations, fines and fees.

Your first steps: Access, control, transition, and assuring maintenance

Get a probate attorney to help guide the legal process
Gain access to and secure property, may need a locksmith
Hire a private investigator if needed to skip trace family information, genealogy, or heritage
Transition surviving family members to another location like a relative's house, a new residence, or care facility
Review insurance policies and vacant house insurance
Assure home maintenance services are in place: pest control, landscape and pool work. Make sure they are being done
Re-home pets: cats, dogs, turtles etc
Secure the house, boarding up windows

Your next step is taking inventory, and determining what to do with belongings

to make sure that property is being reasonably maintained, secured, and that assets and belongings

Assess your inventory, appraise, distribute, or sell valuables
Estate sales and garage sales
Vehicle and/or parts: Selling, towing, or removing (cars, boats, motor homes etc)
Junk removal

Repairs, cleanup, moving, and sale

Correct unpermitted work, address and resolve violations and open permits
Complete any necessary minor construction or remodeling: paint, foundation, roof and leaks, plumbing, HVAC, electrical
Contract handyman for minor repairs, touchups, and biological cleanup (mold, dead animals, blood etc)
Contracting moving and/or storage services
Sale of property
Pay attorney’s fees at close of escrow

A word of advice: Make sure everyone who has a say in the outcomes are included in the process. Allow other family members to be added as trustees/co-executors so as to not create suspicion and get into interfamily lawsuits

Complete your heirship affidavit now, for FREE

An affidavit of heirship is a CONFIDENTIAL document that can be used in some states to transfer ownership of property left by a deceased person to their family. You will need to complete this to get the process started, and you can always pay a few hundred dollars for it, but we are providing it to you for free.

Just fill out the form, sign digitally, and you will receive the completed document digitally. Data is encrypted in transmission.

Heirship Affidavit