you clearly aren't thinking clearly. There is no such thing as too much Kolchak!!!
Any Thoughts on Getting Pipe Back From Lewis Pipe in MN?
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Greetings all,
I met Rich once a few years ago shortly moved into his then new and final premises. It was a pleasant visit and he was a good friend to the pipe community.
May he rest in peace and my condolences to his friends and family.
On to business, does anyone know what became of the inventory? He and I spoke about some replacement bowls for calabash pipes and he had some though they had not been unpacked.
Best,
James
I met Rich once a few years ago shortly moved into his then new and final premises. It was a pleasant visit and he was a good friend to the pipe community.
May he rest in peace and my condolences to his friends and family.
On to business, does anyone know what became of the inventory? He and I spoke about some replacement bowls for calabash pipes and he had some though they had not been unpacked.
Best,
James
Given that I was the executor of my parents estate and my siblings and I the beneficiaries, the fees didn’t begin to cover it. Fortunately we all were in agreement on the disposition.
Definitely have a trust created. It offers better protection against taxes and other forms of fraud, like probate court.
If the estate hasn’t responded at this point, it’s time to either walk away or sue them. Contents of the business will have been tallied. There are no excuses at this point.
Being an executor in a family situation is fraught with trip wires and pot holes, maybe even cliffs.
I was think being an executor was a good thing if the estate were over $20 Million; no debt, plenty liquid assets, and one heir, no valuable art or objects, and all being in trust.
Probably an exceptionally rare estate, and regardless of size, pretty unique to have all of the other attributes.
That would be the ideal situation. My father's estate was nowhere near that size and there were 4 heirs, as well as bequests, and there was a shitload of things that needed doing, such as clearing out their house. This had to be done very carefully, as my mother had developed dementia in her final years, and had taken to hiding various legal docs by secreting them inside newspapers that she had stacked in the closets, hundreds of them.
I engineered the asset split, one part customized to meet my sister's specific requests and the other three to go to my brothers and I. I asked my brothers to pick which of the remaining three they preferred and I would take the left over one. That removed any possibility of anyone having the thought that I was cherry picking, however remote the possibility of that thought was. Estate splits can mine fields.
My sibs did suggest that I take more of a fee, though it was within guidelines, but I saw my responsibility as maximizing the value of everyone's portions. To that end, I told our real estate agent to cool his heels while I renovated the house. He wanted a quick sale and then to move on to his next scam. I wanted the place "turn key". We got back twice what was spent on renovations.
It's at best a dreary thankless business. It took me months to get over it.
I learned some valuable lessons. I don't want stuff. Getting rid of the tons of "stuff" my folks had accumulated cured me of any interest accumulating stuff. Although I got rid of 3/4 of the stuff I had before I moved to Oregon, I now realize that I can get rid of a lot more of it.
I've not been an executor, but my son will be for my estate. Other than cleaning a few things up, I don't know how to make things easier for him, much less educate him. Any ideas?
I’ve had to do this way too many times and here are my suggestions:
Make a will
Get rid of stuff - seriously. If it’s not important to your family then it’s probably going to get donated or tossed
If something is important consider gifting it prior to your demise; you will be able to get satisfaction from seeing it appreciated
Talk with your lawyer to put assets in transfer on death accounts or joint ownership! Saves probate hassles
If you have family photos or heirlooms identifying the people and the significance of the history is helpful to those who come after and keeps them in memory
Just my two cents on this subject based on my experiences and frustrations with my family members who didn’t do these things and left a mess that I had to deal with from long distance when I’d rather have spent the time with family members who came to pay respects and grieve
Just let me know when you need those Barlings moved and I can take care of them. And since it's you I won't charge a fee
A Will is great, a Trust is better. It shields your assets from others. Also, the way that the Trust was set up enabled us to avoid estate taxes. Otherwise, we would have paid about $450,000.
In California you do not want to die intestate. The state's Probate system is a model of corrupt asset stripping. This is true in other states as well, so have a Will and or Trust drawn up, unless you really want your estate to go to probate attorneys. People who fail do to do this set up themselves and their families to be robbed.
Aside from verporchting's excellent suggestions, consider setting your son up with power of attorney for financial affairs, should you need assistance, and make sure that you have created an advanced directive for medical care should you become incapable of caring for yourself. As things turned out, I took care of my parents' financial affairs for the last 5 years of their lives and it worked to their benefit.
The clearer the roadmap, the better.
Express your wishes to the greatest extent possible so that your son knows what you want done. If you haven't done so already, familiarize your son with the details of your estate so that he has a grasp of his responsibilities.
If possible, jettison everything that you really don't want or need to keep. That will greatly simplify things for all involved.
Or like everyone in my family die poor owning nothing.
Avoid having to go through probate (depending upon the state) by adding your preferred devisee's name on all accounts and real property. This way, assets pass by simple operation of law - no probate required. Or, in a few states, you can add a Ladybird Trust to your will to pass real property onto your preferred survivor and avoid probate. Not all states allow Ladybird Trusts, as the purpose is to avoid probate.
Thanks to all. Have a will, have a trust, but one difficult holding (the largest) is not in it. Son owns an interest with me in a bit of farmland in Illinois.
I think he has a decent grasp of my holdings, and he has power of attorney financially, and my lady friend has same for medical issues. I have stated I don't want to extend my life artificially. (In writing.)
But I have some items which might have value that he has no interest in, so I should sell them.
Not familiar with "Lady Bird", but I am advised my trust avoids probate, with the exception of the one large and troublesome real estate matter. (A drugstore lease on a building near Sacramento. Got to get on that.) Fortunately, I have no debt, and enough liquid holdings to make the lad comfortable until he can liquidate what I leave him.
I think he has a decent grasp of my holdings, and he has power of attorney financially, and my lady friend has same for medical issues. I have stated I don't want to extend my life artificially. (In writing.)
But I have some items which might have value that he has no interest in, so I should sell them.
Not familiar with "Lady Bird", but I am advised my trust avoids probate, with the exception of the one large and troublesome real estate matter. (A drugstore lease on a building near Sacramento. Got to get on that.) Fortunately, I have no debt, and enough liquid holdings to make the lad comfortable until he can liquidate what I leave him.
Don’t forget that the Power of Attorney (POA) expires upon death of the grantor! Seen it happen way too many times where the holder is surprised to learn the ability to handle the affairs of the grantor that was good yesterday is of no use the day after death. It’s always sad to watch.
However, if you are the executor you can still handle the financial affairs if the trust is set up correctly. There was no break with my ability to take care of necessary expenses and to discharge the trust's business. Our attorney was very helpful in guiding me through the paperwork with the IRS. A good estate attorney is a necessity. Don't use an estate planning mill.
Yep, exactly. So long as everything is set up properly the executor will be able to do whatever needs doing.
Definitely have an attorney draw up the trust documents!!! The internet is a horrible place for “legal” documents.
Connecticut has been phasing out estate taxes for the last 20+ years but they keep postponing the end date. The probate fees are a small percentage of gross value of solely owned assets. The state taxes mirror federal but at lower rate. Its all online and easy to do if you can read ... which is apparently a problem for many. Advice above is excellent but each state is different so check the rules. Find an attorney with experience. I've been an executor several times the attorney did all the paperwork for a reasonable fee with detailed info I provided. Organization and keeping good records is equally important.
and remember, just because an item means something to you personally, doesn't mean it holds any value to anyone else. Declutter, get rid of the junk, get rid of the sentimental stuff, whether it's via selling it, giving it away or throwing it away. I need to get rid of a bunch of stuff in the garage like old paint cans full of sludge that used to be paint.