Albert was the executor of his uncle’s small estate. He paid the beneficiaries what he roughly calculated they should receive. But he did not hold back enough to pay all the estate debts. Now he was in trouble and looking for legal help. What should you or any executor have done to prevent this pain?

Executors Must Invest in Legal Advice

Albert wanted to avoid spending his uncle’s money. He thought the beneficiaries would thank him as they would each get more money. Instead, they were now steaming because they were asked to give money back. They were worried Albert had made other mistakes.

If you are an executor, don’t forget that your reasonable legal fees are paid by the estate.

Legal advice will help you understand your executor duties including:

• whether you should accept or renounce your role as executor
• confirming a will is legally valid
• setting out your rights and responsibilities as executor
• completing court papers for probate of the will
• helping you sell or transfer estate assets or property
• protecting yourself from creditors and beneficiaries
• avoiding any potential personal liability for income taxes
• showing you the correct way to distribute the estate
• ensuring beneficiaries approve your compensation

Finding the Right Estate Lawyer

Search the internet to get background information about an estate lawyer’s experience and expertise.  Call and interview the firm by phone before you make commitments.

Ask your financial planner, banker or accountant to recommend the name of an estate lawyer in your neighbourhood.

Professional advice will protect you as executor. Consider it an investment to make before it’s too late.

Executor Tip: Getting proper legal advice will keep you out of trouble.

Can you imagine you’re suddenly an executor?

Like most executors, you don’t have any experience handling an estate.

Your new workload feels like you’ve just have taken on another full-time job.

Estate Disputes Can Be Horrible

You can now find out now that you’re going to be involved in an estate dispute.

It could be caused by a former spouse, an estranged child, a business creditor or partner.

In some cases, you could be involved in an income tax audit. You may have to sue a deadbeat to recover estate property.

These disputes can last 3-5 years, or more.

Whenever there is a dispute, you’ll be expected to spend more time:

• going to lawyer’s appointments; 
• reading legal and medical documents; and 
• attending court proceedings.

What Is Expected of Executors?

You will be expected to:

• keep time logs;
• maintain detailed financial records; 
• track your phone calls, letters and e-mails;
• help to collect evidence; 
• keep beneficiaries informed and happy; and
• sacrifice your personal life.

You will need to:

• maintain a complete list of assets and liabilities;
• know what property is insured; and
• file tax returns on time and pay all bills.

On top of that, you must take care of your own health, personal relationships and children.

One Word Describes This: YIKES

You do not have to do this all alone.

Use my experience helping executors for over 3 decades.

Read about the world’s first self defense guide for executors, Executor Kung Fu: Master Any Estate In Three Easy Steps. Read a sample chapter now.

Sign up for the next Executor Workshop.

This is one of the first decisions you get to make as an executor.

Choose wisely – changing lawyers is time-consuming and expensive.

After you do your preliminary research, interview prospective candidates. Look for referrals and search law firm websites.

Note: Some estate problems will call for different legal specialists.

Here are some factors that could affect your choice of lawyers.

You may need different expertise if:

• the will is being contested or does not make sense
• the former spouse wants to sue for support
• the estate includes a business
• the estate may be bankrupt
• the estate includes special assets like real estate or a business

The right lawyer can refer you to specialists in each of these areas.

You want to be confident about the advice you receive. Without the appropriate level of trust, nothing gets done.

If you want to learn more about my experience, watch this short video about my book for estate executors, Executor Kung Fu: Master Any Estate in Three Easy Steps.

Only 1 day left to register! Sign up now to join Ed Olkovich as he hosts this Online Executor Workshop for EstateTherapy.com. Read more…

Most people do not know what executors are expected to do. Making the wrong decision can cause stress and get you into trouble.

If you are a new executor of an estate, I know you are feeling overwhelmed. What should you do first?

You have to protect yourself. Lawsuits against executors are becoming more frequent.

As an estate lawyer, author, and founder of EstateTherapy.com, here’s how I can help you.

I created a self-study system to help executors protect themselves. It’s called Executor Kung Fu: Master Any Estate in Three Easy Steps.

It’s easy to use, filled with insider secrets and in plain language. You can find it only at EstateTherapy.com.

But don’t take my word for it. Visit my website and download a free sample.

Don’t act as executor without visiting EstateTherapy.com.  Watch my video here.

Should YOU, as an executor, attempt to probate a will by yourself?

Here’s the tale of Jennifer to teach you. 

In her job with an insurance company, Jennifer filled out forms all day.  She thought it would not be much different filling out court forms.  Besides, she’d save a bundle by probating her brother’s will without a lawyer.

Jennifer’s brother, Douglas, was 46 when he died from complications with his new medications.  Jennifer was named as executor of his estate.  She wanted to probate Doug’s will.

Why Probate is Necessary

Jennifer was told she would need to get an Ontario certificate of appointment of estate trustee (letters probate as it was called) to sell Doug’s investments.  Jennifer would then pay Doug’s bills and his income taxes.  What was left over was to be all hers.

Jennifer spent a few days online reading up on probate.  She went to a number of websites.  Some were from American law firms.  These only confused her by talking about estate, local state, federal and inheritance taxes.

The local Ontario lawyers Jennifer called were not estate experts.  They each gave Jennifer different information.  They could not answer over the phone what she thought were simple questions.

Who Can Give You Estate Legal Advice?

Jennifer decided to try to probate the will herself.  She purchased legal forms. She filled out the application to obtain a certificate of appointment. She was overwhelmed by her grief.

She went to the local estate court to try to get advice.  She was told by the court clerks they were not qualified to give her legal advice.

Jennifer didn’t realize how long it would take to get the probate papers processed. It took almost 6 months to deal with all the necessary corrections. 

Frustrated, Jennifer admitted she had to hire a lawyer to appear in court.   She had been trying to save money.  It was a worthy goal. However, her numerous mistakes caused her lawyer to start the paperwork all over again.

These complications took time to resolve.  More than 3 months later she received the certificate.  This permitted Jennifer to sell Doug’s stocks.  In the meantime, however, the stock market had taken a downward turn. Some of his stocks became worthless in the 9 months since he passed away.

As a result, Jennifer found she had lost money in the stock market.  The final result was that Jennifer had barely enough to pay Doug’s debts.  She had lost her inheritance.

Jennifer realized too late if she had hired a probate lawyer six months earlier her tale would have had a happier ending. 

The Moral of the Story 

1. Good intentions cannot prevent financial losses. 
2. Doing probate without an estate lawyer puts everything at risk.  
3. Using an experienced probate lawyer is an investment, not an expense.

If you need practical advice as an executor, contact me here. You can count on my experience to help you.

Here are 3 tips to keep you out of trouble.

1. You must know the distinction between executor work and legal work.
2. Get professional advice about your executor duties – the sooner the better.
3. Not all lawyers are experienced in probate matters or can advise you.

Will you Act as an Estate Executor…?

I can give you a proven system with practical tips in my upcoming Executor Workshop.

I’m conducting a one-hour executor workshop on Wednesday, January 26th at 8:00 PM EST.

It is a complete and easy-to-use system to make probate painless for any executor.

I’ve included in the cost of the workshop a downloadable guide called EstateTherapy’s Executor Toolkit: What Every Executor Needs to Know.  Unlike any other guide, it explains what you need to know as I walk you through the probate process, step by step.

You will benefit from the insider information I give to all executors who are my clients.  I call it EstateTherapy’s Executor Toolkit: What Every Executor Needs to Know.  This is the material that you should have received on the first day you started to act as executor.

Who should attend the executor workshop?

• an executor or co-executor who does not know their role and responsibilities
• an executor who wants to know what to do and when
• an executor trying to protect themselves from unnecessary executor liability and headaches

What will you learn?

• legal definitions and terms you must know
• The Probate Process at a Glance … 12 months and counting
• 5 costly mistakes executors make and how to avoid them
• 4 dangers executors face
• The 3-Step Executor Mantra to handle any estate

Space is limited for the workshop so register early to avoid disappointment.  You have nothing to lose with my risk-free guarantee.  The workshop is hosted at EstateTherapy.com.

Are you…?

• an executor who does not know their role and duties?
• an executor who wants to know what to do and when?
• trying to protect yourself from executor headaches?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, you’ll love this online workshop. You will find the fastest way to:

• see the Probate Process at a glance … 12 months and more
• avoid 5 Costly Mistakes executors make 
• sidestep the 4 Dangers executors face 
• use the 3-Step Executor Mantra to handle any estate
• understand legal terms and more

I will be you Executor Workshop instructor during this 90-minute interactive session.

When: Wednesday, January 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EST.

Register now and get an advance sign up bonus. Don’t be disappointed.

Learn the roles and duties of being an executor before it’s too late.

Register here - Start-to-Finish Executor Workshop.

In part 1, I gave you ways to find the right estate/probate lawyer. Now what do you do with your list?

 Make sure you do your homework. Compare the list of possible candidates. The names of two or three lawyers may surface who work in your neighborhood.  Now you’re ready to start with the next step.   

Invest some time in interviewing a number of candidates to ensure you can work with them.  

You can use the telephone or email to narrow down your choices by asking questions. Here’s a list of possible questions you can ask an estate lawyer:

-                      Will you personally meet with me to discuss my needs? 

-                      Do you spend 30% or more of your time handling estates? 

-                      How long have you handled estates? 

-                      How long does the process take?  

-                      Do you have an information package or website?

 Make sure you feel comfortable talking with your lawyer. Communication skills are important. If this is lacking, you cannot get the advice you need.

 Remember this: the lawyer who prepared the will may have no probate experience.   

 Watch my 1 minute Executor Self Defence video.

Executor Kung Fu Book

Finding the Right Estate/Probate Lawyer
 
Here are seven tips to help you. Begin by preparing a list of possible candidates from these sources.

1. Personal referrals.  Your friend or neighbour may have had a positive experience with a probate lawyer.  This is a good place to start.  Do not, however, assume that your needs are identical. You may not get the same results.

2. Professional referrals.  Your bank, financial planner or accountant usually has a list of lawyers he or she recommends.

3. The Law Society of Upper Canada.  Law societies also can refer you to prominent lawyers or certified specialists.  Lsuc.on.ca 

4. Ask other lawyers.  Call lawyers you know.  Ask them for lawyers they recommend for probate and estate administration matters. 

5. Estate seminars.  Contact financial service groups in your neighborhood who hold public or private presentations.  If you attend a meeting, you can personally meet and assess if a probate lawyer is suitable.

6. Internet searches.  Check a lawyer’s website to review their qualifications and experience. Look for possible memberships and publications. This will also help you break the ice before your first meeting. 

7. Advertising. www.yellowpages.ca and community ads may help you identify possible lawyers.  Do not base your hiring decision solely on the size of an ad in the Yellow Pages.

Watch my 1 minute Executor Kung Fu video.

In part two, I’ll cover what to do with your list of candidates.

Executor Kung Fu Book