Beyond wills: Navigating the basics of estate administration
Pre-planning lies at the heart of hassle-free estate administration. Prior estate planning can assure individuals that their survivors would not have to fight uphill legal battles to claim what is rightfully theirs. Image source: thebalance.com The many tasks at this point include drafting a will, collecting and updating the pertinent documents, and assigning an executor. With the advent of the digital age comes the need to store passwords and other online accounts where they could be found by survivors. In the absence of a will, state law would determine and decide how one’s estate would be divided. Because state law does not always line up to the wishes of an individual, it is recommended that a will be drafted. Wills would need to be updated at key points in a person’s life. At times, a will would need to be administered in more than one state. Although most probate cases are held at the state where the death has occurred, individual state laws govern the