1st 3 months

First 3 Months
In addition to the tasks outlined in First Month, here are some of the key tasks you should be
accomplishing in the first 3 months (note that many of these tasks will require a copy of the death
certificate).
Start the Probate Process
If applicable, most executors start probate 2-3 months after the decedent’s death. This process will
get you an official document commonly known as your “Letters”, which will make it easier for you to
prove your authority when dealing with various other third parties such as banks. See Probate for
more details.
Establish a Family Allowance
If the decedent left behind dependent family members, and the estate is going through probate, you
can petition the court to set aside a portion of the estate that can be made available to those family
members to pay for their interim living expenses … independent of any debts that the estate may
owe. If such an allowance isn’t necessary in this case, just mark the task N/A (Not Applicable) on
the Tasks tab.
Forward Decedent’s Mail to Yourself
It will be much easier for you to have the decedent’s mail delivered directly to you. Sometimes this
can be easily arranged, but some post offices are pickier than others, and will ask to see an official
death certificate and your authority. Since it can take weeks or even months to get these
certificates, you may not be able to accomplish this task right away.
Carefully go through all mail. You will almost certainly uncover previously unknown debts over time,
and it is your fiduciary duty to ensure that these are paid (or forgiven). You may also discover
dividend checks, refunds, life insurance policies, and more, not to mention correspondence from
friends who should be informed of the death.
Notify Life Insurance Companies
If the decedent held any current life insurance policies, you may want notify the issuing companies,
and ensure they payout in accordance with the terms of the policy. Often it is the beneficiaries that
do all this, however, and the executor has no legal obligation in this regard.
Notify IRAs and Other Beneficiary Accounts
A number of financial instruments, including IRAs and 401Ks, pass directly to the named
beneficiary on the account. While the executor has no control over these assets if the beneficiary
has been properly designated in the account, you should notify the account managers so that they
can begin their proceedings.
Notify Other Agencies
While not mandatory, it’s nice to clean up other official records so that the decedent’s name doesn’t
later get entangled in various fraudulent activities:
Contact the DMV in the decedent’s state to cancel his or her driver’s license and remove him
or her from the voter roles
Contact the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).
Determine & Notify Heirs
Based upon the contents of a valid will, and/or local statutes, determine who the heirs are, and let
them know. You will likely not be able to definitively tell them what, if anything, they will be inheriting
until after you have determined overall estate solvency and sorted out various allocation questions,
but it’s nice to keep the heirs informed of the process (and required by law under certain
circumstances).
Obtain an EIN for the Estate
You will need an equivalent of a social security number for the estate, in this case the
inappropriately named Employer Identification Number (EIN). You can apply online for an estate
EIN via the IRS, or you can obtain a copy of IRS Form SS-4 and mail it in.
File IRS Form 56
While not strictly required, it’s generally considered best practice to file Form 56 with the IRS,
notifying the US government that you are responsible for the estate, and that all tax
correspondence should go to you (reducing the risk of important mailings getting lost). When you
have completed your executor duties, you will then file a corresponding Form 56, terminating your
responsibilities, and this second filing will give you certain long-term legal protections.
Open an Estate Bank Account
You do not have authority to write checks from the decedent’s account. Even if you had power of
attorney, that generally disappears upon the decedent’s death.
What you need to do is to open an estate account, with you named as the executor. While it would
be convenient to do this immediately, you will almost certainly need to wait until you can provide a
copy of the death certificate and an EIN, leaving you in an awkward state of having to pay for any
interim expenses out of your own pocket, to be reimbursed once you can get access to the estate
assets. Track deposits and withdrawals from this account via the Cashflow tab.
Publish a Notice of Probate in the Local Newspaper
Probate publication is intended, in part, to ensure that any creditors get fair notice that they need to
come to you to get their debts paid. If they do not contact you with a certain period of time after this
publication, which varies by state, then they lose their ability to make any estate claims. Typically
this deadline ranges between 1-4 months, by state.
Keep this limitation in mind when dealing with creditors. It may be to your advantage, for example,
not to reach out to a credit card company, and hope that they don’t contact you within the time limit,
thus leaving more assets for the heirs. On the other hand, some people may feel that it is more
ethical to reach out to the creditors directly, and fully honor any of the decedent’s debts. In either
case, this time limit gives you protection against unknown debts that might otherwise surface long
after you have distributed the entire estate proceeeds.
Notify Extended Acquaintances
If there are other acquaintances that haven’t already been told about the death, it’s nice to let them
know (often in response to correspondence you will receive in the decedent’s mail). This process
can also be an interesting opportunity to learn more about your loved one’s life.
Start to Assess Estate Solvency
You should have a pretty good sense by this point as to whether the estate owes more than it is
worth, or not. If the estate clearly owes significantly more than it is worth, you may want to wash
your hands of the whole thing, declare the estate bankrupt, and turn it over to the courts for
disposition.
Begin an Asset Disposition Plan
Some assets may be explicitly called out in the will for specific disposition. You may need to sell
some assets to raise cash to pay off debts. Some heirs may want their share of the estate to
include particular assets. You need to develop an plan that satisfies your legal obligations and
preferably, maximizes heir happiness. See Managing Assets.
See also Year-End for tax-year and calendar-year tasks that may have to be accomplished within
the first 3 months, depending on date of death.
Note that once you enter the decedent’s date of death in the Decedent tab, and begin to fill out
more information about the estate, EstateExec will calculate the relevant due dates for all of the
listed tasks (and others), and display them in the Tasks tab.
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