The Executor’s Digital Estate Checklist
The executor found the house keys in the kitchen drawer. The bank statements were filed neatly. The insurance documents were labelled, the will was stored…
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Read guide: The Executor’s Digital Estate Checklist -
Probate or Letters of Administration?
Read guide: Probate or Letters of Administration?The family knew there was money in the estate. What they did not know was who had authority to touch it. The deceased had signed…
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Paying Urgent Estate Bills Before Probate
Read guide: Paying Urgent Estate Bills Before ProbateThe funeral invoice arrived before the executor had even located the deceased’s latest bank statements. The family had assumed the bank would simply allow the…
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When You Can Settle an Estate Without Probate
Read guide: When You Can Settle an Estate Without ProbateThe family expected months of court paperwork. The deceased had left a valid will naming one adult child as executor. There was no house, no…
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When an Executor Must Be Removed
Read guide: When an Executor Must Be RemovedThe beneficiaries had stopped asking when the estate would be finished. They were now asking whether it was safe. The executor had held probate for…
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When the Executor Will Not Take Charge
Read guide: When the Executor Will Not Take ChargeThe will named one executor. Everyone knew who she was, where she lived and how to contact her. She had the original will, understood that…
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Stepping Away From the Executor Role
Read guide: Stepping Away From the Executor RoleThe will had been signed years earlier. At the time, agreeing to act as executor felt like a small favour for someone close. Then the…
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What Probate Really Costs in New Zealand
Read guide: What Probate Really Costs in New ZealandThe executor received three very different answers to one apparently simple question. “How much will probate cost?” One person said it should cost only the…
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Getting Paid for Acting as Executor
Read guide: Getting Paid for Acting as ExecutorThe executor had expected paperwork. He had not expected the role to take over his evenings. For nearly a year, he dealt with probate forms,…
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