Estate Planning | The Estate Timeline: “What You Need to Do”

The time period related to estate administration is different with every estate plan and every kind of estate administration.  Sometimes, estate administration and probate can go quickly and sometimes it goes less quickly.

Often, though, things go much smoother and efficiently if you discuss how you would like your estate administered with your estate planning lawyer.  He or she should then incorporate your plan into your Last Will and Testament.  The first thing that the lawyer should discuss with the personal representative is what the lawyer needs for proper estate administration.

Typically, the personal representative should gather the following documents for the lawyer:  the Last Will and Testament, the death certificate, a list of all the heirs and beneficiaries, a list of all assets and debts of the deceased.  Documents that can help show assets and debts are such things as bank statements, account ledgers, deeds for real estate, motor vehicle titles, life insurance and annuity documents, retirement plans, and any other information that will help the lawyer identify the deceased’s estate.

If the personal representative of a Minnesota estate is able to gather these types of documents, the lawyer will have a much easier time investigating, categorizing, and then quickly administering the estate through the court.  One of the biggest estate administration time wasters is the search for assets and debts that were not disclosed by the personal representative or not made easily available due to a lack of proper estate planning.  Lack of estate planning and the drafting of a usable Will and/or Trust is the biggest reason for lost money and lengthy estate administration.

For more information on estate planning in Minnesota, along with a variety of other topics, contact Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm at (612) 424-0398.