How can an executor stay involved while the lawyer processes the paperwork?

Some executors or administrators of estates will hire a lawyer and ask that the lawyer take care of the entire estate from A to Z. More commonly though, executors and administrators want to be more involved than that. They want to keep costs low, keep the estate file moving along, and maintain control of the estate. Recently a reader in exactly that situation wrote to me, and I'm sharing the answer here.

"My father recently passed away and unfortunately does not have a will. I am trying to wrap my head around what exactly I need to do to get things straightened out. I've spoken to a lawyer and he has outlined what is required and I do need to give him some more information so that he can start the necessary process but if I am able to do some thing(s) myself, then by all means I am willing to tackle them."

There is a lot of opportunity for an executor (or, as in this case, an administrator) to take on tasks to keep legal costs low and to keep the estate file moving as efficiently as possible.

During the initial stage of the file, the lawyer will be gathering information to put together an inventory of assets and debts, as well as a list of beneficiaries and family members. You can supply a list of names, addresses and birth dates, and call around to family members to come up with information that might be missing.

You can also go through your father's house to find paperwork such as bank statements, investment statements, insurance policies, title deeds, property tax assessments, pink slips for vehicles, credit cards and bills of sale. All of these items contain vital information such as account numbers that will save the lawyer a lot of time. You can save even more time and money if you are able to go to the banks yourself to get updated statements (that isn't always possible for administrators, but it is for executors).

If there is a house, cabin or land to be sold or transferred to a beneficiary, you can save time and money by arranging to get appraisals. I recommend that you get at least two for each piece of property.

Once the lawyer interprets the law for you so that you know who is going to be a beneficiary under the intestacy laws of your province, you should notify them of what's going on. Once you have the grant of administration, you may wish to set up a day for everyone to get together and divide up the personal and household items.

Your lawyer may ask you whether you want to open an executor/administrator's bank account or have him run everything through his trust account. You can do it either way, but it's cheaper to do this yourself, unless there are beneficiaries who don't trust you to handle the funds. As an administrator (rather than executor) you won't be able to open the bank account until the court has issued you the letters of administration.

When it comes time to prepare an accounting to the beneficiaries, the lawyer should draft the Release documents. But you can save a lot of money if you prepare the statements yourself. Please understand though that you have to prepare a proper accounting that deals with all payments into the estate and payments out. If you prepare something inadequate or misleading and it ends up in court, you won't have saved any money or any time.

If you would like more of a step-by-step guide, pick up my book called Alberta Probate and Administration Kit. Even though the majority of the forms in it are for Alberta, there are also executor's accounting forms that can be used anywhere in Canada, and plenty of information, tips and ideas that apply to executors and administrators across the country.

Is there supposed to be a reading of the Will?

We've all seen those movies where someone has passed away and the family is gathered into an oak-paneled boardroom to hear the deceased's Will read out by the family lawyer. Though it may once have been the practice in some places to hold this kind of gathering, it is no longer done this way.

There is no law that requires the Will in its entirety to be read to the family. These days, beneficiaries of an estate are sent a letter by registered mail that tells them about their inheritance. Unfortunately this doesn't provide opportunity for any greedy relatives to leap dramatically to their feet, yelling to the shocked assembled family members about how unfair the Will is, but that only happened in Hollywood anyway.

I think the outdated belief that all family members are entitled to be present at a reading of a Will is at the bottom of the well-entrenched anger and frustration expressed by family members who want to know what is in someone's Will. They really do believe themselves to be entitled to information based on the fact that they are related to the deceased, even though that isn't true. Non-beneficiaries are not sent anything or told anything about the Will, even if they are family members.

This is not to say that the executor of a deceased person couldn't hold a Will reading if he or she wanted to. This wouldn't replace the requirement to send notices to beneficiaries but it would help out the executor who would prefer to have the lawyer read and explain the terms of the Will rather than try to do so alone.

Does an incarcerated person forfeit his or her inheritance?

Executors of estates can easily get bogged down whenever there is a beneficiary named in the Will who is in an unusual or unexpected situation. One of the situations in which it isn't always obvious how an executor should proceed is that of one of the beneficiaries of the estate being in jail. For the sake of this post, let's assume that the beneficiary in question is going to be in prison for many years to come.

If the person is incarcerated, is he going to forfeit his inheritance?

No, he or she is not going to lose the inheritance just because of the fact that he or she is prison. If the Will says that no beneficiary who is incarcerated shall inherit, then the answer is different.

In some provinces, there is a requirement that an executor who is applying for probate of a Will must give notice in writing to each beneficiary of the estate. If a person is incarcerated, he or she still has to be sent a notice in the same way that any other beneficiary would be notified.