Death and Property
/Earlier this year, my father became very sick and died after about six weeks in the hospital. Dealing with my father's affairs gave me a perspective I didn't have before, not just emotionally, but practically: I suddenly found myself dealing with property, financial accounts, personal belongings, paperwork, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and decisions about what happens next, while also trying to process my grief. It was a tall order and I don’t wish my experience on anyone…but chances are that you will go through the loss of a family member at some point, and you might wish you’d read this to help you avoid some of the inevitable confusion and stress.
Please, for the sake of everyone you care about, make a will. Feeling like what you have to leave behind isn’t worth the effort? Turns out that not having a will can require even more effort from your closest relative since they’ll be responsible for hiring an attorney to sort out everything with the probate court. And remember to update your will during significant life changes like marriage, buying a home, having children, divorce, etc. A basic will shouldn’t cost much to have prepared and (this is important) recorded with the county, so be an adult and get it done.
Discuss your parents’ plans and wishes with them now; don’t wait for them to bring it up. Knowing what documents we would need and where they were kept was a challenge. Dad kept everything, but wasn’t the most organized and had just moved to a new home last year. I went through 20 boxes of paperwork and several years of emails to piece together where his banking, credit & investment accounts were, which bills were on auto-pay, who handled taxes and insurance, what military and government records we needed for his federal pension, and even proof of when his 5 marriages and 4 divorces took place. To compound matters, my stepmother had let dad handle all of the finances while she handled their businesses, and they had never discussed most of these details or shared logins for account websites. This is a true benefit of those password management programs — make sure someone you trust has access to it!
Learn all you can about all the real estate & the personal property within it. How real estate is owned can vary; in some states, your surviving spouse has ownership rights to a certain percentage of your primary residence by virtue of your marriage, but in other cases it is less clear. Know how each property is titled on the deed and whether there is a transfer on death affidavit, will, or trust. Luckily my dad’s new condo was already paid off with the proceeds from their previous home, but there are still property taxes, HOA fees, and utilities that needed to be transferred into the trust’s name (or my stepmom’s name when necessary) and added to her monthly budget.
Get professional help when selling an estate property. A real estate agent can help you determine the current value of the home, what kinds of repairs might need to be made, and provide feedback on other improvements that could increase the resale value. They can also help mediate potentially emotional discussions about which improvements are worth doing, who pays for them, and how they are reimbursed. They’ll help ask the most practical questions, like “What condition is it in? What needs to be done? What are the carrying costs? What does the market look like? What would it realistically sell for as-is?” Your agent can also connect you with great local resources to help with selling and donating personal items, cleaning, renovations, and more. HOWEVER…an attorney can help you determine who has the right and/or obligation to sell the property, so make sure you’re consulting one during this process.
