Access to house after death

[joesxm3]

Does this imp!y that the executor should hold the will? Currently he would have to enter the house to get the will. I suppose this is a moot point since he probably would have entered the house before anyone noticed.

I admit that I tend to over think things.

I am leaning towards getting a joint owner safe deposit box to keep some stuff that the executor could access after I die and probably a joint account to provide some immediate cash for pre-death needs.

 

[PatrickA5]

In my dad's case, there was technically no Executor since we never probated the will. My lawyer asked if any of the beneficiaries don't get along and I said "no. just me and my brother". She said it was fine to dispose of the household contents as we see fit without messing with opening probate. Nothing much of value anyway. I can see how this would be a problem if we're talking a lot of valuables and beneficiaries that don't get along.

 

[gayl]

I'm single too so I had my house retitled to a trust which should transfer on death to my 2 kids. All accounts are split to 8 beneficiaries TOD and bank accounts are POD. So all that's left is misc "stuff" well under 150k on paper. They can discuss that as its just stuff

 

[Sunset]

Does this imp!y that the executor should hold the will? Currently he would have to enter the house to get the will. I suppose this is a moot point since he probably would have entered the house before anyone noticed.

I admit that I tend to over think things.

I am leaning towards getting a joint owner safe deposit box to keep some stuff that the executor could access after I die and probably a joint account to provide some immediate cash for pre-death needs.

You do other think it.

Give the executor a key.
Put your copy of your Will in top drawer of file cabinet in yellow folder - and tell executor the Will is there.

Yes a joint checking account with $3K would probably be enough for executor to pay bills while sorting out stuff.

Surely you have TOD/POD on most accounts, so not sure what the Will has to really cover, especially as you could TOD/POD the house (probably).

 

[meleana]

Just give him a key.

 

[SecondCor521]

Does this imp!y that the executor should hold the will? Currently he would have to enter the house to get the will. I suppose this is a moot point since he probably would have entered the house before anyone noticed.

I'd give the executor a copy if you think he needs it.

I am leaning towards getting a joint owner safe deposit box to keep some stuff that the executor could access after I die and probably a joint account to provide some immediate cash for pre-death needs.

Safe deposit boxes are apparently locked by the bank as soon as they know you're deceased.

 

[badatmath]

Safe deposit boxes are apparently locked by the bank as soon as they know you're deceased.

Not if they are joint (supposedly). I'm on someone's for this reason but as they aren't dead it hasn't been tested.

 

[NXR7]

Gees, just structure everything to avoid probate if your state allows it to make it easy and quick on the survivors.

Change the house title to a Transfer On Death. With the valid death certificate the local Recorders office will transfer the title. I think that cost $50 when my mom died.

Put beneficiaries on EVERY account. Beneficiaries take precedence over the will and accounts get dispersed by the financial institutions upon receipt of the death certificate.

Some states even allow a transfer on death designation on vehicle titles.

While having a will is a good thing as a last resort mechanism, do everything possible to make it unnecessary to file the will with probate court. You'll lose certain refunds like insurance and similar because those will be made out to the estate but those rarely total to anything significant.

A friend was a magistrate for a large county probate court. He said they regularly handle cases where a half-million to a million and more was owed at death but there is no estate to pay the debts. He said the creditors have factored those into what they charge their other customers. If there is no probatable estate the creditors get stiffed.

As he put it "In America you can live well beyond your means and not have to pay it back. So no, the perfect financial planning is not when the last check you write bounces. It's when you're a juggler and at death ALL of your checks bounce."

 

[audreyh1]

Does this imp!y that the executor should hold the will? Currently he would have to enter the house to get the will. I suppose this is a moot point since he probably would have entered the house before anyone noticed.

I admit that I tend to over think things.

I am leaning towards getting a joint owner safe deposit box to keep some stuff that the executor could access after I die and probably a joint account to provide some immediate cash for pre-death needs.

Yes. I had the will for a long time but at some point I gave the original to the lawyer for safekeeping and kept a copy. At the least give the executor information about the attorney that drew up the will and some of your last wishes. I knew DF’s burial preferences, etc.

But since I was managing DF's property I also had keys to the house. I was also joint on DF’s checking account that I used to manage his expenses in his last years. I used it to maintain the estate until everything was settled.

 

[SecondCor521]

Not if they are joint (supposedly). I'm on someone's for this reason but as they aren't dead it hasn't been tested.

I've heard the opposite, but I also haven't tested it (and almost certainly won't need to).

 

[SecondCor521]

Gees, just structure everything to avoid probate if your state allows it to make it easy and quick on the survivors.

Change the house title to a Transfer On Death. With the valid death certificate the local Recorders office will transfer the title. I think that cost $50 when my mom died.

Not a thing in my state.

Put beneficiaries on EVERY account. Beneficiaries take precedence over the will and accounts get dispersed by the financial institutions upon receipt of the death certificate.

Some states even allow a transfer on death designation on vehicle titles.

Not a thing in my state.

While having a will is a good thing as a last resort mechanism, do everything possible to make it unnecessary to file the will with probate court. You'll lose certain refunds like insurance and similar because those will be made out to the estate but those rarely total to anything significant.

A friend was a magistrate for a large county probate court. He said they regularly handle cases where a half-million to a million and more was owed at death but there is no estate to pay the debts. He said the creditors have factored those into what they charge their other customers. If there is no probatable estate the creditors get stiffed.

In such cases I believe the creditors can petition the court to open probate and be named executor, then can hunt down the decedents assets and claw them back whether they had beneficiary designations or not. For that amount of money I'd be surprised if they didn't.

As he put it "In America you can live well beyond your means and not have to pay it back. So no, the perfect financial planning is not when the last check you write bounces. It's when you're a juggler and at death ALL of your checks bounce."

Sounds like a stressful end to life to me. To me perfect financial planning is paying all your expenses, paying off your debts, paying your taxes, paying your burial expenses, and having a comfortable amount left over to go to someone or something you loved in life. YMMV, of course.

 

[eyenitnoy]

n

I have no children. My current executor is someone I trust but he is older than me and probably over his head unraveling my financial stuff. I might have to fix that going forward.

The lawyer seemed to imp!y that even with a key the executor would be trespassing. I guess the big worry is that those with access would remove valuables that belong to the heirs.

Lawyers!

I am in a similar situation. I have no children so I have given my executor-a trusted friend-a key and also told him where various important things are located. My executor and his wife, as an aside, are getting the house in my will.

I suppose the lawyer is technically correct that it would be trespassing. But so what? Who is to know and who is going to take this horrendous "trespassing case" to the district attorney to prosecute? No one. As I said...Lawyers!

Alright, as to another solution:

Deed 1% (or any other amount you want) of the home to your executor as tenants in common. With this form of the deed, the named person has full legal access to the property. Problem solved. Of course, doing this will require...a lawyer. And should your executor die before you (you said he was older than you) that might well lead to complications with his estate.

 

[yclipse]

My attorney brought it up and research seems to confirm. Being a single guy it seems that the executor of my estate will not be allowed to enter my house until he is confirmed by the court which could take a month or more.

This seems to be a problem for various reasons, such as the boiler having a problem during really cold weather or protecting against break-ins.

This will be on my research list this year. It seems maybe a trustee would have access, but going that way has a lot of extra stuff that I may not need.

I suggested having a grant of access document but the attorney did not think that would work. Maybe expires at death like a POA.

I suppose the solution would be to get out of the house before I die, but at 68 I feel too young for that. I like the control and freedom of my own house.

You're overthinking it. If the house is empty after a death, I tell my clients that the person nominated as executor technically has no legal authority to act but has a practical responsibility to take care of the things you are concerned about - visit the home regularly, make sure that the utilities are paid, there are no leaking pipes, that propane tanks are filled, etc. The local police department could be contacted and asked to let the nominated executor know if there is anything amiss during the interim period.

The concern about "trespass" is misdirected. Who is going to complain about his entry? If the executor does not live nearby, he can and should ask someone to act for him to do these things.