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Practical information to help you understand your options and plan your next steps.
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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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The Executor’s First Seven Days
Read guide: The Executor’s First Seven DaysThe first call may come before sunrise. A parent, sibling or close friend has died, and somewhere in the first few stunned conversations, someone says,…
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The Executor’s Paper Trail
Read guide: The Executor’s Paper TrailThe estate had been distributed three years earlier. The house was sold, the beneficiaries were paid and the executor believed the administration was finished. To…
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The Search for a Missing Will
Read guide: The Search for a Missing WillThe family had searched every drawer in the house. They found insurance papers, old bank statements, passports that had expired years earlier and a folder…
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Lock, List and Protect: Securing an Estate’s Property
Read guide: Lock, List and Protect: Securing an Estate’s PropertyThe front door was unlocked when the executor arrived. Inside, several relatives were sorting through drawers. One had placed a box of photographs in the…
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The Executor’s Communication Playbook
Read guide: The Executor’s Communication PlaybookThree days after the funeral, the executor’s phone began filling with messages. One beneficiary wanted to know how much the house was worth. Another asked…
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Probate Without a Lawyer: A Careful DIY Guide
Read guide: Probate Without a Lawyer: A Careful DIY GuideThe executor had read the will three times. The appointment was clear. There was one original will, one executor, no handwritten changes and no obvious…
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Affidavit Mistakes That Can Stall Probate
Read guide: Affidavit Mistakes That Can Stall ProbateThe executor believed the probate application was finished. The deceased’s original will had been located, the death certificate was available, and the affidavit had been…
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Where Your NZ Probate Application Really Goes
Read guide: Where Your NZ Probate Application Really GoesThe executor lived in Dunedin. The deceased had lived in Christchurch. Most of the estate’s property was in Auckland, and the executor’s co-applicant had recently…
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