Poof! You’re an Executor. That is to say, suddenly you’re the President and CEO of an estate. You are a fiduciary, which means you have a financial responsibility to the shareholders, excuse me – stakeholders, or rather, the heirs. A list of projects awaits your direction. You likely have subcontractors to vet and hire (Attorney, Cleanout Co., Appraiser, Real Estate Agent, et al.) You oversee the compliance department responsible for probate, the process of satisfying the estate’s requirements for the settlement of an estate. You’re in charge of Accounts Payable, Receivables, Bookkeeping, Security, Maintenance, Sales, and Human Resources. Your staff is a hodgepodge of relatives and friends with varying attitudes and willingness to help.
You got this.
However, know that few businesses play out as planned. There are surprises, disappointments, challenges, and obstacles. And that’s just day one! There’s a learning curve as CEO and mistakes are part of it. One of the most difficult parts of being an executor or personal representative is that most do this once. It is unfamiliar and new. Once you get the hang of it, you’re done. That’s OK. Being an executor is a passage, not a lifelong commitment. Your main priority is to marshal the estate forward towards settlement and close the estate. That’s the goal, to be an ex-executor.
Move the Estate Forward
Like the adage goes, “How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Often, an estate can feel like an elephant, or a mountain. One bite at a time, one step at a time, does it. At the beginning, that mountain can look awfully tall. Here’s another adage,
Break the large task down into smaller manageable tasks, and take them on one at a time.
The Project Management Approach
Probate, accounting, liquidation, real property sale, cleanout, distribution, legacy management, etc., these are the departments of estate administration. Each can be broken down further and likely need to be. Assess, plan, execute.
Hats off to PALS: The Professionals of After-Loss Services for their cue to have a Project Management approach. More on this here: Estate Talks Podcast: 3 Things an Executor Should Know Day 1.
Build a Team
Every estate is different. Every company is indifferent. If you have helpful, willing family friends ready to dive in, by all means, accept their help. If the scope of work is beyond the available help, many estate-facing service providers can help. We also recommend discussing with a probate attorney that you have your bases covered, and be ready to engage one. A good accountant can be a good hire as well. Estate Sales, Auctions, cleanouts – these are projects that may require professional help.
You’re the CEO. Hire who you need and move the estate forward.
Delegate
Task # 1 may be breaking down the estate into smaller, more manageable tasks. Task #2 may be delegating said tasks. We spoke above about subcontractors and staff. Staff is an unreliable cousin and your sisters. You’re the CEO. You have to be realistic about the amount of manpower these tasks are going to take and the manpower (or woman power!) you have to “get ‘er done.” For example, putting your sister and brother in charge of the full cleanout may not be the best use of the resource. However, asking them to tackle Mom’s closet and dresser may be. For example, your unreliable cousin might not be a great choice for estate bookkeeping, but maybe they can help with a box of old photos, or a closet cleanout. Be realistic with the workload and the available family power.
Hire
The size and complexity of the estate are going to dictate the level of help you’re going to need from outside contractors. Perhaps that box of old photos is several boxes of old photos and Cousin Betty is more of the closet cleanout type. (You know Betty. You don’t want her anywhere near those photos. But she can clean out a closet.) There is a burgeoning profession of photo organizers ready to take that on. Is the personal property in the estate valuable? There may be heirs who want stuff. Some heirs may want cash. The executor may need to hire a professional appraiser to determine the value of the stuff, so sister 1 gets $500 in cash and sister 2 gets dad’s baseball card collection that she always wanted, which is appraised at $500. Determining the parcels of the estate work that need to be covered by the professionals is good management.
The main page of the Executorium.com Estate Service Providers Directory lists many of the categories of services available to help executors. You can also find local providers by county.
Don’t Forget
The Probate Court or Probate Offices in the jurisdiction of the estate are a resource. Most probate courts/offices have materials that orient an estate as to what the requirements of probate are in that state. Do not overlook these resources. Nor should you overlook the registrars, judges, surrogates, and clerks of the county or jurisdiction that deal with estates every day, as they can be an extremely helpful source of information and solutions.
Be Organized
Find a method. Centralize your estate administration operation. Keep notes and maintain a filing system. Doing what works for you so that you can find things, remember things, and report things is good management. It’s easy to get unorganized fast. There are a lot of moving parts to an estate, and putting your hands on documents, recalling agreements, and keeping records all lend themselves to easier administration. As time goes on, constantly scrambling for what’s needed is stressful. Reporting and transparency is important in your role as a fiduciary, and being organized is key to providing this to the estate and its stakeholders, the heirs, not to mention the courts.
Awareness
This is going to sound a little self-serving. Perhaps a bit of chest-thumping. But the whole idea behind Executorium is to give executors some context about this whole executor thing. Our mission is to be a resource for executors. To Executorium.com, that means putting what we can on executors’ radars, flattening the learning curve, and helping them see the estate administration environment with more clarity. That said…
Meander the site. It is designed to show you the practical ins and outs of estate administration. Goal #1 is to provide awareness of the resources out there because this is likely your first time through this experience, and there’s so much to it. It’s easy to miss something. We don’t want executors to miss stuff. We want executors to have resources at their fingertips and be aware of solutions.
CEO’s are leaders. Leaders are readers. It’s in their best interests and the interests of their company to be aware of their business environment and the solutions it offers. The resources that can help a company be more efficient and manageable are worth taking the time to know about.
Be Accountable
Everything you do as an executor is open to scrutiny. If for no other reason, you need to marshal the estate fairly and in compliance with the will and the law. As the fiduciary of the estate, you have a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the estate and heirs. A good estate attorney can help you accomplish this. At the end of the day, it is the executor who is responsible. As you work through the mundane as well as impactful responsibilities of the estate, bear in mind that transparency, communication, and fairness bear scrutiny quite well.
Agility
This one’s a wild card. As said, all estates are different. Some are quite simple. Others are not. Businesses commonly encounter difficulty and rancor. So do estates. As executor, or personal representative, you’re the Chief Executive Officer. Be agile with solutions and move the estate forward. Like a good CEO, if the estate is stuck, pivot. Seek solutions. If your estate lawyer is stuck, not moving this forward, consider a new attorney. If the estate is acrimonious, mediate. If you’re stuck, struggling, ask for help.
Business isn’t easy, and neither is estate administration.
We wish you smooth seas.
See MORE…
Estate Help from Professional Estate Service Providers
The Emergence of the Estate Administration Services Profession