The Essential Executor S Handbook

Many of you, regardless of your feelings on the matter, will eventually be appointed as executor of your parents’, spouse’s, or another’s estate. Just calling an attorney isn’t enough. Settling a decedent’s estate may require the combined expertise of accountants, appraisers, auctioneers, realtors, bankers, brokers, insurance companies, a myriad of bureaucrats, and, yes, even lawyers. Where do you start? How do you empty a house crammed with a lifetime’s worth of knick-knacks, bad art, and unopened mail? How do you deal with long-lost relatives who think you’re taking too long or charging too much? And how do you oversee those professionals who know so much more than you about the process? The Essential Executor’s Handbook not only explains the steps involved in settling an estate, but it shows you how to get all these professionals to do the work for you. You will learn everything you need to know about the basic laws and procedures involved; all the legal definitions you could possibly want; and why each professional is necessary, what they do, what they charge, and where to find them. No matter how little you know about law, accounting, and the rest, The Essential Executor’s Handbook will lead you by the hand through the settlement process.

The Executor's Handbook, Third Edition is a step-by-step guide to settling an estate for personal representatives, administrators, and beneficiaries.

Popular author and Senior Wills and Estate Planner Lynne Butler offers her latest in an ongoing series of estate planning advice. In this title, Ms. Butler tackles the rarely discussed personal liability of appointed executors. Personal liability is the biggest risk that estate executors and administrators can face, sometimes resulting in long drawn out dissolution of estates that can even trump the value of the initial estate. Understanding how to avoid the pitfalls through this process means that you can enjoy the benefits of being a benefactor exactly as intended in the will. Beneficiaries will also find this book useful, when they want to understand better what an executor can and cannot do.

Readers say it best: "This book covers all aspects of estate settlement in a complete and thorough manner.", "The book is written in easy-to-understand terms, with lots of good practical advice.", "I actually bought it to place in my file cabinet along with my Trust documents, Living Will and other documents", "We liked it so much, I bought this book for a friend who was handling a new estate." Acting as the executor, representative, or administrator of an estate is a complicated and time-consuming task, not only in an administrative sense but often in an emotional sense as well. The Executor’s Handbook, Fourth Edition is a comprehensive guide for readers who need help understanding the basics of the procedures that settle an estate. In practical and straightforward language, it covers all aspects of estate administration, including funeral arrangements, organ donation, administering probate, dealing with the deceased's assets and liabilities, and personal representative's compensation. You will understand not only your responsibilities but the responsibilities of those who will be assisting you. Tables of state income tax rates, intestacy laws, and state-by-state probate requirements are also included, and a glossary, index, and list of recommended works complete this handbook.