Where there's a will is there a way?
December 6, 2011 10:37 AM Subscribe
Looking for assistance with Probate process in MA (Middlesex county). Do I need a lawyer for a simple estate with a will? I am the executor.
I have been named executor in my mother's will. I took it to probate court and was handed three forms. The amount of legalese is mind boggling. Are there any free resources to guide me through the process? The Probate court' Web site has all sorts of forms, but I can't seem to find any instructions or a step by step.
I have been named executor in my mother's will. I took it to probate court and was handed three forms. The amount of legalese is mind boggling. Are there any free resources to guide me through the process? The Probate court' Web site has all sorts of forms, but I can't seem to find any instructions or a step by step.
Call the probate court: they'll probably be able to help walk you through the paperwork, especially if you're not only the executor but also the only beneficiary. (I haven't dealt with Mass. probate, but that's what happened here in Virginia.)
posted by easily confused at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by easily confused at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2011
I am not at all familiar with this process but Nolo Press is known for publishing DIY guides for common legal procedures and they have one for executors with good reviews on Amazon: The Executor's Guide.
posted by phoenixy at 11:16 AM on December 6, 2011
posted by phoenixy at 11:16 AM on December 6, 2011
Best answer: I have done this, recently, in MA, with a lawyer. If you have a situation where the estate is under the taxation levels [these vary but let's say under a million and I think you're under federal and state levels], all you need to do is file to be appointed official executor. What happens at this point is that a legal entity is created which is "the estate" and you are its legally responsible person. In MA they also require some sort of bond be filed with a MA resident's name on it [I was not this person because I am not a MA resident so my sister needed to be this person] which is basically saying "If there are legal issues with the entity known as the estate, you are the person we can serve a subpoena to" I think this also comes up if you embezzle money from the estate, they go after you. It takes a bit of time to get appointed executor. For me it was months because it took a while to get the death certificate which is a necessary part of all this. So you file [I do not know what this entails, my lawyer handled this] and at some point you get an official document that says "there is an entity, it is known as The Estate of _______, and you are in charge of it, legally" I think you also need to take out an ad in the paper that says that you are this person and that the creditors of the deceased, people who are owed money, need to talk to you. I think they have a year or something to do this otherwise they are SOL. I do not know the specifics about this, this is my loose handwavey explanation.
This entity can now do things like take over the bank accounts and other things that are in a weird sort of limbo because they belong to a person who is not legally a person. With the piece of paper you get saying "Hey you're the executor" and the death certificates [get tons of copies] you can then do the work that needs to be done, continuing to pay bills, dealing with whatever beneficiaries get, getting insurance or social security benefits, forwarding mail. It's a thousand tiny cuts when you're already grieving but for some people (I was one of them) it can also be calming. At some point [and I have not gotten to this point yet] time is up and then you have to finalize the estate, distribute the stuff to beneficiaries, and then the estate as an entity is dissolved and everything that is left over becomes yours to deal with or gets absorbed back by whoever it belonged to in the first place [debts go away at this point, i think?]. You or your lawyer will have to file a tax return for "the estate" and this is, I am led to believe, a little complicated.
So, I am not a lawyer but I am a little further along in this process than you are and my estimates about all this are approximate. A lawyer was very very helpful for me in working through this stuff, but the estate was also a little more complicated. You can probably get a lawyer to quote you a basic price for dealing with the paperwork for a small estate and have an idea of whether it's something you think is worth the money or not. Nolo Press writes some books about this and I briefly read the one about executorship and it answered some questions I had. Best of luck and sorry for your loss. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions I might be able to answer.
posted by jessamyn at 6:53 PM on December 6, 2011
This entity can now do things like take over the bank accounts and other things that are in a weird sort of limbo because they belong to a person who is not legally a person. With the piece of paper you get saying "Hey you're the executor" and the death certificates [get tons of copies] you can then do the work that needs to be done, continuing to pay bills, dealing with whatever beneficiaries get, getting insurance or social security benefits, forwarding mail. It's a thousand tiny cuts when you're already grieving but for some people (I was one of them) it can also be calming. At some point [and I have not gotten to this point yet] time is up and then you have to finalize the estate, distribute the stuff to beneficiaries, and then the estate as an entity is dissolved and everything that is left over becomes yours to deal with or gets absorbed back by whoever it belonged to in the first place [debts go away at this point, i think?]. You or your lawyer will have to file a tax return for "the estate" and this is, I am led to believe, a little complicated.
So, I am not a lawyer but I am a little further along in this process than you are and my estimates about all this are approximate. A lawyer was very very helpful for me in working through this stuff, but the estate was also a little more complicated. You can probably get a lawyer to quote you a basic price for dealing with the paperwork for a small estate and have an idea of whether it's something you think is worth the money or not. Nolo Press writes some books about this and I briefly read the one about executorship and it answered some questions I had. Best of luck and sorry for your loss. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions I might be able to answer.
posted by jessamyn at 6:53 PM on December 6, 2011
Sorry for your loss...I've just finished the process, it was emotionally more difficult than I expected - and in the end, the final paper work was much simpler than I would have expected given the process involved.
If you get a lawyer - make sure you have a good idea about the costs. Either have them set a fixed price at the start or make sure you get a monthly accounting. You don't want to be surprised (and with little recourse) at the end of the process.
The thousand tiny cuts mentioned by jessamyn are even more aggravating in the end when you find they are accompanied by a thousand not so tiny charges.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned, you will also need to get a tax identification number for the estate. This will be needed to transfer any assets into the name of the estate.
Once you have been officially appointed executor (with short certificates in hand) and have the tax id, set up an estate bank account and make sure that everything related to the estate goes through this account. All of the liquidated assets go here and all of the bills are payed from here - this will simplify your accounting in the end.
One final thought, if the estate has multiple beneficiaries (not sure if this is the right term) a lawyer might ensure everyone thinks the process is fair. Going it on your own might save some money, but it also might put you in an uncomfortable position with the other beneficiaries...
posted by NoDef at 8:19 PM on December 6, 2011
If you get a lawyer - make sure you have a good idea about the costs. Either have them set a fixed price at the start or make sure you get a monthly accounting. You don't want to be surprised (and with little recourse) at the end of the process.
The thousand tiny cuts mentioned by jessamyn are even more aggravating in the end when you find they are accompanied by a thousand not so tiny charges.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned, you will also need to get a tax identification number for the estate. This will be needed to transfer any assets into the name of the estate.
Once you have been officially appointed executor (with short certificates in hand) and have the tax id, set up an estate bank account and make sure that everything related to the estate goes through this account. All of the liquidated assets go here and all of the bills are payed from here - this will simplify your accounting in the end.
One final thought, if the estate has multiple beneficiaries (not sure if this is the right term) a lawyer might ensure everyone thinks the process is fair. Going it on your own might save some money, but it also might put you in an uncomfortable position with the other beneficiaries...
posted by NoDef at 8:19 PM on December 6, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dfriedman at 11:00 AM on December 6, 2011