What to do when a loved one passes away

Whether your spouse has just passed away or you have lost your mom or dad, the emotional trauma of losing a loved one often comes with a bewildering array of financial and legal issues demanding attention. It can be difficult enough for family members to handle the emotional trauma of a death, let alone taking the steps necessary to get these matters in order.

Often times, you must go through the probate process. If there is no estate because there is a trust, and you are named as the trustee, the process will be different based on the trust document's specific instructions. In that case, it is recommended you meet with an attorney to make sure you know your obligations and liabilities as trustee.

I want to focus on probate for this post. If you are the personal representative of the will, you first should secure the tangible personal property, meaning anything you can touch such as silverware, dishes, furniture or artwork. Then, take your time while bills need to be paid. They can usually wait a week or two without any real repercussions. It is more important that you and your family have time to grieve. 

When you are ready, you should meet with us to review the steps necessary to administer the will and go through probate, which may include

• File the will and petition in probate court in order to be appointed the personal representative.
• Collect the assets. This means that you need to find out about everything the deceased owned and file a list of inventory with the court.
• Pay the bills and taxes. If an estate tax return is due, it must be filed within nine months of the date of death.
• Distribute property to the heirs. Generally, personal representatives do not pay out all of the estate assets until the period for creditors to make claims runs out in order to make sure the estate has sufficient assets to pay all claims.
• Finally, you must file an account with the court listing any income to the estate since the date of death and all expenses and estate distributions.

If you are inclined to go through probate on your own, you can find helpful information at the Wisconsin Register in Probate web site (here) or on the Wisconsin Court System's self-help website (here).