If You’re a Personal Representative Don’t Make These Mistakes

Probate law says what happens to your belongings and assets, after you pass—between the law, and any will that you may have, your assets may be distributed to beneficiaries, organizations, creditors, or all of them.

Why is a Personal Representative Needed?

But assets don’t go places by themselves. They need a human being to do things like pay bills, transfer titles, record documents—even just to inventory and figure out everything that a deceased may own, figure out who gets what (with the assistance of a will or the probate court), liquidate assets, pay creditors, open or close accounts, and speak with creditors or debtors.

That person is the Personal Representative of an estate. A Personal Representative is a position that requires a lot of work, and attention to detail. We often designate loved ones or someone very close to us to be a Personal Representative, but those people may not have the time, or experience or expertise needed to fully do the job of Personal Representative, and mistakes can be made.

Finding the Beneficiaries

One common mistake is simply not doing a diligent enough job of finding beneficiaries.

Not every beneficiary is readily found or available. Before just declaring property as unclaimed or abandoned, or passing it to another heir, the Personal Representative must use resources and assets to do a diligent search to try to find the beneficiary who is not readily available.

Improper or Incomplete Inventory

We own a lot of things. Big, expensive things, and small, little things. They all must be inventoried, and many Personal Representatives don’t do a diligent job of inventorying all of a deceased’s property.

That’s especially true with people who have intangible assets, or non-physical assets, like cryptocurrency, or intellectual property, or shares in companies. People may even have assets overseas.

Open Communication Problems

The Personal Representative may be in the uncomfortable position of explaining to someone why they received less than someone else, under the deceased’s will, or pursuant to probate laws. While communication doesn’t guarantee that there won’t be a legal challenge, it can go a long way to making sure that beneficiaries who feel short changed, don’t blame the Personal Representative.

Not Managing Assets

Some assets, like money in a bank account, don’t need much oversight or management. But others do.

Deceased business owners may have a business that needs management. A Personal Representative for someone who had numerous or complex financial investments, may need to actively make sure the investments are safe, in the right financial vehicle, and being managed properly. A home may need maintenance, upkeep, and regular inspection until the probate court dictates who will inherit it or until a transfer is made.

All of these duties fall on the Personal Representative, and he or she can be liable, if an asset depreciates or is lost, because of mismanagement.

All of this takes serious recordkeeping and bookkeeping. A probate court, or beneficiaries to an estate, will want to see how the assets and funds were spent or managed.

Call the West Palm Beach probate lawyers at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help if you are a Personal Representative of an estate, or have questions about the probate process.

Source:

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