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| Getting Ready | |
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| The Executor's Legal Companion | |
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| How This Book Can Help | |
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| Overview | |
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| What Executors Do | |
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| What Trustees Do | |
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| Your Legal Duty | |
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| Payment for Serving as an Executor or Trustee | |
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| Dealing With Emotions Yours and Your Relatives' | |
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| If You're Asked to Be an Executor or Trustee | |
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| Should You Accept the Job? | |
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| Making the Job Manageable | |
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| First Steps | |
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| The First Week | |
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| Organ, Tissue, and Body Donation | |
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| Physician's Certification and Death Certificate | |
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| Autopsy | |
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| Burial or Cremation | |
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| Funerals and Memorial Services | |
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| Other Tasks During the First Few Days | |
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| The First Month | |
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| Set Up a Filing System | |
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| Order Copies of the Death Certificate | |
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| Find the Will | |
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| Find Other Documents That Leave Property | |
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| Send Notifications of the Death | |
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| Keep Property Secure | |
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| Sort Through Personal Belongings | |
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| Claiming Life Insurance, Social Security, and Other Benefits | |
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| Life Insurance and Annuity Proceeds | |
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| Social Security Benefits | |
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| Pensions | |
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| Veterans Benefits | |
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| Wages Owed the Deceased Person | |
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| The Family Allowance | |
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| Other Possible Benefits and Claims | |
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| Taking Care of the Estate | |
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| Making Sense of the Will | |
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| Does the Will Appear Valid? | |
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| Reading the Will | |
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| Gifts to Groups of People | |
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| Events That Affect Who Inherits | |
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| If There's No Will | |
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| Who's in Charge | |
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| Who Gets What: The Basic Rules | |
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| Understanding Key Terms | |
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| If an Heir Has Died | |
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| Taking Care of Minor Children | |
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| Taking Inventory | |
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| Look for Assets | |
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| Make a List of Assets | |
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| Estimate the Value | |
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| Add Up Debts | |
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| Determine How Title Was Held | |
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| Managing Assets and Paying Bills | |
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| Your Legal Duties | |
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| Keeping Good Records | |
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| Setting Up an Estate or Trust Bank Account | |
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| Keeping Tangible Assets Safe | |
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| Managing Cash Accounts and Investments | |
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| Paying Claims and Debts | |
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| Giving Property to Beneficiaries | |
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| Selling Property | |
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| Handling a Business | |
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| Caring for Children and Their Property | |
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| Immediate Concerns | |
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| Raising a Child | |
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| Managing a Child's Property | |
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| Personal and Practical Issues | |
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| Taxes | |
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| Overview | |
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| The Deceased Person's Income Tax Return: Form 1040 | |
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| The Estate's Income Tax: Form 1041 | |
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| Income Tax on Trusts | |
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| Federal Estate Tax | |
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| State Inheritance and Estate Taxes | |
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| Other Taxes | |
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| Beneficiaries and Taxes | |
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| Typical Situations | |
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| Transferring Property | |
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| Property That Doesn't Go Through Probate | |
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| Common Assets That Don't Go Through Probate | |
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| Joint Tenancy Property | |
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| Tenancy by the Entirety Property | |
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| Community Property | |
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| Property Held in a Living Trust | |
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| Real Estate That Qualifies as a Homestead | |
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| Property That Passes to Immediate Family by Law | |
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| Salary or Wages | |
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| Payable-on-Death Bank Accounts | |
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| Life Insurance Proceeds | |
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| Individual Retirement Accounts | |
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| Health Savings Accounts | |
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| Securities Registered in Transfer-on-Death Form | |
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| Savings Bonds | |
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| Vehicles | |
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| Pension Plan Distributions and Other Death Benefits | |
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| Real Estate Left by a Transfer-on-Death Deed | |
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| Personal Property in "Small Estates" | |
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| Transferring Joint Tenancy and Other Survivorship Property | |
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| Real Estate | |
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| Bank Accounts | |
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| Securities | |
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| Vehicles | |
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| Savings Bonds | |
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| If Title Wasn't Cleared When the First Joint Tenant Died | |
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| Transferring Community Property | |
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| Your Transfer Options | |
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| Survivorship Community Property | |
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| Community Property Agreements | |
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| State Probate Shortcuts | |
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| When the Second Spouse Dies | |
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| Claiming Money in Retirement Plans | |
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| Retirement Plans: The Basics | |
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| Who's the Beneficiary? | |
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| If the Surviving Spouse Is the Beneficiary | |
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| Nonspouse Beneficiaries | |
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| Special Rules for Multiple Beneficiaries | |
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| If a Trust Is the Beneficiary | |
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| If There Is No "Designated Beneficiary" | |
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| If the Beneficiary Has Died | |
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| If No Beneficiary Was Named | |
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| If the Estate Is the Beneficiary | |
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| Claiming Payable-on-Death Assets | |
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| If the Asset Was Co-Owned | |
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| The Effect of Divorce on POD Beneficiaries | |
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| How Beneficiaries Can Claim Assets | |
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| Special Procedures for Small Estates | |
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| Are You Handling a Small Estate? | |
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| Claiming Property With Affidavits | |
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| Using Simplified Probate | |
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| The Regular Probate Process | |
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| Common Questions About Probate | |
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| The Typical Probate Process | |
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| The Process in Uniform Probate Code States | |
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| Probate in Another State | |
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| Disputes During Probate | |
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| Do You Need a Lawyer? | |
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| If You Go It Alone: Working With the Court | |
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| Handling Trusts | |
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| Wrapping Up a Simple Living Trust | |
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| How Simple Living Trusts Work | |
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| If You're the Surviving Spouse | |
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| Who Serves as Successor Trustee | |
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| The Affidavit of Assumption of Duties | |
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| What's in the Trust | |
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| Notifying Beneficiaries | |
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| Getting Valuable Property Appraised | |
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| Registering the Trust | |
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| Debts and Expenses | |
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| Transferring Trust Property | |
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| Ending the Trust | |
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| Managing a Child's Trust | |
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| How a Child's Trust Works | |
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| The Trustee's Job | |
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| Accepting or Declining the Trustee's Job | |
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| Gathering Trust Property | |
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| Keeping Beneficiaries Informed | |
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| Registering the Trust | |
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| Investing Trust Property | |
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| Keeping Good Records | |
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| Handling Trust Taxes | |
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| Distributing Property | |
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| If You Want to Resign | |
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| Ending the Trust | |
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| Getting More Help | |
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| Finding More Information | |
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| Libraries | |
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| Online Resources | |
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| Finding Forms | |
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| Finding Definitions | |
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| Researching Specific Questions | |
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| Lawyers and Other Experts | |
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| When to Get Help | |
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| Deciding What You Want From a Lawyer | |
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| Finding a Lawyer | |
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| Choosing a Lawyer | |
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| Working With a Lawyer | |
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| Paying a Lawyer | |
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| Solving Problems With Your Lawyer | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Appendix: State Information | |
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| Index | |