Advertising for creditors online vs the newspaper

It's not required by law that every executor advertise for creditors of an estate, but many executors choose to advertise for two reasons. One is to make sure the estate runs as smoothly as possible by reducing the chances that a late-claiming creditor will show up when money has already been distributed. The other is to limit the executor's liability.

Any executor who has considered advertising for creditors in the newspaper will have noticed how incredibly expensive it is. I believe that the cost has deterred a number of executors who otherwise would have liked to place an advertisement.

I recently came across a blog post from www.allaboutestates.ca that talks about an alternative to advertising in the newspaper. It discusses using the online advertising provided by www.NoticeConnect.com. To read the blog post, click here. It's based on the idea that these days the internet reaches a lot more people than a local newspaper. It's also less expensive than using the newspaper.

You'll note that there is already a link to www.NoticeConnect.com on my blog and many of my readers have taken a look at the site. A number of you have already used their services. I have never met the owners of the site in person but I've chatted with them on the phone a few times. It's important to me, and I think to others who might want to use their service, that the owners and operators of the site are lawyers. They understand what they're doing.

In a recent discussion with them, I asked whether they know of any cases in which a judge has specifically addressed the legal effectiveness of online advertising for creditors. Apparently there is one recent case, an unreported decision, which they'll send to me. This is great news because as a lawyer, I want to be able to reassure people that the steps I'm recommending are the right ones.

If you're an executor thinking about placing an advertisement, check it out. It's good to have options.