Executor of Will Checklist - YouTube

So you're the executor of a will and now you don't  know what to do . Is there a checklist that you  

can follow? Sure there is. I've got one for you.  I'm going to give you the top five right now. The  

first thing you want to do is get multiple  original copies of the death certificate.  

Everyone who asks for one is going to want an  original, not a carbon copy, not a Xerox copy.  

You can't just run to staples and get this, so  see the funeral director to get as many copies as  

they'll give you. If he suggests 1012 or 15, add a  few. I usually recommend about 20 and fine that's  

been a perfect number depending on how  extensive the decedents the state is  

as far as bank account and things like that. The second thing you're going to do is decide  

whether to probate or not probate. In some states  the smaller ones don't necessarily need to be  

probated however it is still a good idea. If  you do, a qualified attorney will help you or  

you can try To do it yourself. You're going to  need letters of testamentary and you're going  

to need a short certificate. Any bank account,  any insurance policy, or anything like that is  

going to require that you produce those to prove  that you are the person in charge of settling the  

estate. So get your letters of testamentary and  get your short certificate along with the death  

certificate . Those are the papers you're going to  need in order to get people just to talk to you.

The third thing you want to do is set  up a bank account just for the estate.  

You're going to have to continue to pay the bills  out of that account until the estate gets settled  

and it is so much easier to account for everything  if there coming out of one bank account and not  

several. See a qualified attorney if you have  questions about setting something like that up.

The fourth thing you want to do is  get a value on all the property.  

Are there coins are there stocks, bonds,  bank accounts, certificates of deposit. Are  

there any antiques or other collectables? Is there  property? If there's real estate involved I've  

been a licensed real estate agent in Pennsylvania  and now New Jersey. You are going to need a letter  

explaining how much and validating how much  that property is worth and why it is worth that.  

You want to get this because you do not  want to underpay the taxes. I recommend  

seeking a qualified real estate agent who  knows the area that can write the letter  

for you and has experience writing that letter  because it's not just “the property Is worth  

200 grand. It's not that easy. You don't need an  appraisal but you will need something official to  

send with the tax return. If you're in the bucks  County or northeast Philly area feel free to  

reach out to me. I'm more than happy to help you  with that and you're going to want to be accurate  

because the next step is filing tax returns. A qualified accountant will help you file the  

decedent's final income tax return. Don't wait  until April 15th. You want to get that done as  

soon as possible. The next return you're going  to want to file is the Pennsylvania inheritance  

tax return. There are discounts if you file  within 30 days or 90 days but you're going to  

need to file that as soon as possible especially  if you're an executor . You do not want somebody  

saying that you took too long to file and now  we owe more, so file that as soon as you can. 

Now the 25th thing is distributing all the assets  to the beneficiaries and there's a lot more in  

between. Look below there is a link for a full  checklist. It is totally free , and no obligation.  

Some of the things won't apply to you but a lot of  it will and it will make it a lot easier for you.

Good luck and let me know if you need any help.  If you found this video useful check out my other  

video on inheritance and estate tax . The link  is below if you would like to learn more about  

PA inheritance tax. Thank you for watching.

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