Estate Settlement Checklist
The Legacy Logix Estate settlement checklist takes the mystery out of settlement. It covers all the key phases of the process, including over 70 tasks organized in 11 sections, with links to more than 40 articles to educate yourself along the way.
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Checklist Section Overview
Send notifications of death and burial
The first phase is notifying key people in the decedent’s life and organizing final arrangements. This section describes steps such as obtaining a death certificate and reaching out to the right organizations.
Establish your role as executor
This section will help you understand and establish your key obligations as an Executor/Successor Trustee, such as submitting forms, tracking expenses, and considering compensation.
Manage and protect decedent’s assets
Estate settlement can get complicated when the executor does not control important assets. This section will guide you through managing different types of assets and actions you should consider.
Gather important legal and financial documents
This section will guide you through the gathering of the decedent’s important legal and financial documents needed to begin to settle the Estate. This includes a detailed list of assets to look for.
Assess the need for probate
Some Estates may need to go through probate, which is governed by state-specific rules. This section will help you understand the process and get started if probate applies to you.
Claim death benefits
It is not uncommon for death benefits to be missed during the settlement process, often from organizations the decedent was affiliated with. This section guides you through a comprehensive assessment of benefits to consider.
Process decedent’s home and other properties
Selling a home is well understood, but as an executor, you need to consider more than the transaction. This section helps you consider the process of getting buy-in from Estate stakeholders, as well as other important issues.
Process decedent’s financial assets
There is a lot of complexity in processing different categories of financial assets. Investment accounts, bank accounts, and retirement accounts all have unique considerations. This section helps you delve into specific considerations for each type of financial asset.
Process decedent’s high value assets
Personal property (non-cash assets like jewelry, art) often need special consideration, and can sometimes carry sentimental attachments. The value of these assets can also be hard to nail down. This section provides processes for managing different types of personal possessions.
Submit Estate taxes
This section includes key tasks and informational articles on inheritance taxes and filing local, state and federal taxes for the Estate. Special considerations are also highlighted, such as those associated with retirement accounts.
Distribute and close the settlement process
This final section walks you through the distribution of the Estate to the beneficiaries, the critical steps to consider when finalizing the Estate, and the key responsibilities for the executor.
Manage the process in Legacy Logix to save time, money and settlement stress.
“Quite a comprehensive list of action items - plus a set of tools to help me through them. I started in the dark, and your product brought clarity and order to the process. Thank you”
Legacy Logix Estate Settlement software helps you work through each phase of the checklist, saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars along the way. Use it to organize and interpret documents, report on assets, track financials, and share your progress with the people that need to know.