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Sorry to hear about your mom. I had to go through that same situation a number of years back when my parents passed away. I was a bit of a pain, but like you, it was up to me. It did take a while, but I did survive. If your dad was a history buff, it would be a shame not to go through and organize his paperwork. I think it would be the right thing to do.
Chet--I am with you on this. Especially since he named me as his personal representative ahead of my brothers. I feel it is my duty to perform as he would wish.
I wonder how others would proceed? It will really help make the decision to get several voices chime in here.
Dave LASM ... Sincere condolences. I am still working with my sisters regarding my Mom's estate. She passed away in May 2016. ..... I suggest you find some members of historical societies to help sort the historical information.
Chet .... The Empire Builder is now operating. I'm using CB&Q E-units to represent the train running on the Q between Chicago and St Paul.
Dave,
For handling the estate of your parents, take your time. Be sure of everything before you execute each step of the way. There is no rush.
Your first step is to get a few dozen copies of the death certificate from the mortuary. You will need all of them. Most now and some later on down the road. Next is to get an employee PIN number from the IRS so you can file tax returns on behalf of the estate. You can find information on line with the IRS of how to handle tax matters of an estate. Do not try to skip the IRS before you distribute the estate. They will come after you personally for any taxes owned. Next is to make sure the will is registered and you are given your letter of representation. You can hire an attorney to work with you, but guess what? He will charge you by the hour and by the document. Unless you have complex trusts, royalties or corporate issues, you should be able to handle this on your own.
Best procedure is to not distribute anything until the entire estate is accounted for and you have it all in your control. You will be required to send letters of notification to every person who is mentioned in the will, regardless if they are willed any portion or not. You must make sure you get signed receipts for the notification letters.
The letter of representation gives you authority to transfer all titles and deeds to the buyer or next owner. Any accounts that are POD or similar can be transferred outside of the will with just the death certificate. You will have to pay some kind of fee based on the total value of the estate that is covered by the will. That is why POD accounts are so important. They aren't counted when calculating the fee.
Most accounts or insurance payouts will usually be in the form of an account that is setup by the issuer. A check book is issued to the new owner and they can either draw from it as they desire or cash out the whole thing at once.
I handled the estates of both of my parents and then of both of my wives. It was pretty much the same each time, in state and out of state. It's not uncommon for this process to take well over a year to complete.
Ken in VA .... Your advice to Dave regarding handling an estate are very constructive. As some here know, my mother died in May of 2016. The estate is a big mess. Relations between family members have deteriorated. Following some of your advice would have prevented much of that. In particular, your advice not to distribute anything until after the entire estate is accounted for would have avoided a lot of grief. I don't wish to say much in a public forum about personal stuff, but I am very sad about things done by family members after my Mom passed away.
To my good fortune my parents were very "tight". They paid off the farm a couple decades ago and lived frugally. They only place they travelled was Glacier National Park once per year.
It is a perfect example of "all your eggs in one basket". Essentially they have the farm free and clear and no debt. Not really any cash of any consequence to distribute or run off with.
I am very thankful for their management techniques at this time.
Ken in VA .... Your advice to Dave regarding handling an estate are very constructive. As some here know, my mother died in May of 2016. The estate is a big mess. Relations between family members have deteriorated. Following some of your advice would have prevented much of that. In particular, your advice not to distribute anything until after the entire estate is accounted for would have avoided a lot of grief. I don't wish to say much in a public forum about personal stuff, but I am very sad about things done by family members after my Mom passed away.
I didnt realize until now that we both lost our mothers at the same time. I buried mine on May 8 (Mother's Day) of 2016.
Luckily for us, my 1 sister has had P.O.A. over their finances since shortly before my fathers passing in 2010. Since the start of her term as P.O.A. and also as executor of the estate, "full disclosure" has been the law of the land. That way, everything goes by the letter of the will, and there were no surprises. Also luckily for us, her husband's business is quite successful, and allowed her to take the needed time off from her work to dot the I's and cross the T's. It is not a task I would want. Due to her hard wok and ethic, my sisters and I still get along. I wish everyone's family that kind of outcome to the sad experience of losing someone.
Were down to doing Mom's taxes and splitting up family photos. Also I have been charged with selling off her thimble collection. Anybody interested??
A warning to all here. If you have eBay experience selling items, keep your damn yap shut! You might get put to work!
LASM, Good luck with your task.
Later gang, time for the Sandman again! BB tomorrow, after I move a cord of wood!
an additional note about settling an estate. Keep everybody informed of what you are doing and what your plan is.
It's 25 degrees this morning in King George, VA. Meeting with some other model railroaders for our regular Saturday morning breakfast. If ya want to join us, Bob Evans by I-95 on Rt. 3.
A Pleasant Good Morning To All. It's a mild 47° and partly cloudy skies. Weather Underground indicates wind gusts at 0.0 mph...guess that I can burn the burn trash this morning. Seemed a little slow in the Coffee Shop yesterday. I hope that everyone tipped well...
Trainwise, I started assembling wall sections for some low-relief warehouses and industries that I mentioned yesterday. Guess it is a good thing that I postponed the trip to the LHS until next week, as I have no ground level DPM blank walls. I did spend some time cutting spare Walther's walls into brick columns (pilasters) for a different building.
Dave - My condolences on your mother's passing. Ken (D&J) has posted some excellent advice. Mainly take it easy, there's no hurry. I have been there and I would offer the same advice that he has. My dad passed away in 2005 (mom in 1994), and left us quite a complicated estate, including 33 different retirement/bank/brokerage accounts! At least he had it all documented. Fortunately for us, he even had his 2004 tax return done and he died in February.
I think that it is neat that your dad was a history buff. Organizing it all might be rather enjoyable, I would also take Garry's suggestion regarding local historical societies. Garry - Great pictures of the Empire Builder. Ken (D&J) - Excellent advice to Dave and any others who may have to deal with this. I echo your advice regarding no distribution until everything is accounted for. An interesting side-note to my dad's passing. I had to teach my small-town bank about inherited IRA's since they had never done one before! I was only going to be using them as a temporary measure until I could set up a proper investment account.
That's it for now. Everyone have a great and safe New Year's Eve. I might make 9:00 pm, haven't seen midnight in over 30 years. I stay home and drink champagne!
Thanks for the great advice and concern over my estate task.
As far as the history goes, my family settled the area in 1856, 2 years before Minnesota became a state. We have photos and letters from before then documenting escapades to the gold field, building of the Canol train, their Dairy, and a Dredge business that developed many of the lakes in the area around the year 1900.
GARRY--nice railroad photos!
Not to forget this is a model railroad site, here is a favorite shot, a new view of the old layout:
Good morning fellers. My B&O painted GP9 should be here today as the postal service has stepped up their game. Last check puts it out for delivery at 7:55 am. So that's some good news. I came across an interesting photo this morning of a Seaboard System SD40. I never knew when the merger took place that units were to be painted in Chessie with SBD reporting marks above the unit numbers. Let's kick the door open for fictional railroading!
Morning fellas,
It appears the morphine has been putting a big whammy on me. Or I just can't take it. For the last few days I've been falling asleep at the drop of a dime and in any position imagineable.
Sleeping sitting upright in a chair is easy. Loosing control and crashing is something new and happened the other night. AFter sort of getting my stuff together I fell aspleep right away not long after that crash. .... only to crash face first into the keyboard.
I almost fell asleep from a standing up position the other night. Instead I fell asleep while in the middle of changing my feed bag. of course it ran completely out and the alarm went off and managed to wake me up. It took me a while but I finally managed to get it changed.
It doesn't sound all that dramatic writing about it but it actually put quite the fear in me.
So here I am about to crash again.
I'm going to pack it in before I face plant - once again and possibly really hurt myself. I don't need that!!!
Nighty night, catch you all later this evening.
E.
Mornin folks. Down at Myrtle Beach to see my daughter and her new arrival. As soon as I held my grandson for the first time he farted, yep...that's my kin all right!!!
Mornin folks. Down at Myrtle Beach to see my daughter and her new arrival. As soon as I held my grandson for the first time he farted, yep...that's my kin all right!!!
Dang, E! Cancer ain't got nothing on the medicine! That sounds like it has caused you more trouble than what they give it to ya for!
I sat at the tracks and happily watched a couple CSX SD40's shove a string onto a siding last night. The impatient ones did "uies" behind me to go around but it did not take long and the sound/SMELL was just an added benefit to the show! Even before I got into the layout I never minded waiting at the crossings unless it was an appointment or work that I was heading to.
Hope "Gomez"/Terry is ok, ain't seen him on here in an unusually long time.
Hey Willie. An inherited IRA will cause any bank manager to run away and hide in the coat closet. It's not really a problem if the IRA stays in the institution that was the original issuer of the IRA. They have the history of it for tax purposes. If you attempt to transfer it, the new institution would prefer that you just adopt it as a new IRA. It's the history that they are worried about. If the original institution has wrong data on the history, the new institution may get caught holding the bag, or tax liability as well as how they can loan out the principle of it. The Federal Reserve minimum holdings requirements of the bank varies with different types of instruments. An inherited IRA or Roth IRA has different tax implications than an IRA that you initiated.
Oh, and on Karl's mention of the P.O.A. If ya want to do a quick trip to jail, use a P.O.A. after the death of the principle. That is illegal as forgery. A letter of attorney or better known as a P.O.A. expires on the death of the principle or granter.
You might get put to work!
