Jerry Taylor walks through five urgent steps an executor should take immediately after someone dies. Secure the home first, before probate courts restrict access. Protect tax returns, financial statements, and heirlooms from family members taking items before the estate is properly documented.
Chapters
5 things you must do immediately when someone dies in your family, if you are the executor or if you are the successor trustee of the estate. We all know that it's very difficult to act practically when somebody close to us has died, but these are things you must do as executor or successor trustee to make sure that the estate is safeguarded and that things are passed on smoothly to the heirs. We all have that person in our family who may live alone and who is very secretive about their finances. The key to the successful distribution of that estate is to get access to the home as quickly as possible. If the person who died had a will, this may be your only opportunity to access the home before the matter goes into court, and the probate court may require that there be very limited access to the home thereafter. We all know that situation where family members have gone into a home, perhaps a grandparent's home, shortly after death and run off with certain things in the house. This is your opportunity to make sure that doesn't happen. You're looking for tax returns, financial statements, family heirlooms. You need to secure all of that before you leave.
