An inheritance is when money, property, or assets a deceased person owns are transferred to a beneficiary, who is usually a close family member but may also include friends or charitable organizations. An inheritance can certainly change your life for the better and increase your financial security. It opens up opportunities for wealth building through investment and increases your access to homeownership.
However, discovering that you’re a beneficiary to an estate is one thing, while claiming your inheritance is a completely different ball game. There are other legal, tax, and financial implications that you need to understand and manage appropriately in order to ensure a seamless transfer of the assets you inherit. This article will explain the critical steps involved in the inheritance process.
Locating The Will
After a person dies, the first step would be to find out if they had a Will before their demise. If they left a Will, it would likely contain instructions about the deceased’s wishes for burial or cremation, funeral or memorial service, and whether or not they wish to donate their organs. You will need to find an original copy of the Will. It is important to try to locate the Will even if you think your loved one does not have a Will. This would involve searching all places that would reasonably be considered where a Last Will and Testament can be found, such as in the safe deposit box of the deceased. You may also need to contact their lawyer, who may have helped prepare the Testament.
If the Will was kept in a safe deposit box at a bank, you’ll need to bring a key to the box and present a copy of the death certificate and your ID. If you don’t have a key, the bank may charge you a fee before drilling the box open. They should allow you to take the Testament if you are named as executor. Apart from checking with the deceased’s lawyer and looking at their home and safety deposit box, another place to search for a will is the wills registry. This registry is a government-run database used to store information concerning Wills and other estate planning documents to help families and beneficiaries find lost Wills.
You would need to submit an application to search the registry. Even if your search result doesn’t yield a result, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your loved one passed without leaving a Will. It is possible they moved the Will, canceled it, or chose not to file a notice with the registry. If you are able to locate a Will through the registry and you intend to apply for probate or administration, you’ll need to file a copy of the certificate obtained from the registry search with the court.
Authentication of the Will and Testament
Before a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament can be recognized as valid and admitted to court, it must be authenticated. This step is critical and must be done before a court can open a probate estate. Generally, the laws that apply to a Will authentication and probate process vary depending on geographical location. Before a Last Will and Testament is admitted to probate, it must be authenticated that the document was executed properly. The most common way to authenticate a Will is via a self-proving affidavit, which is a form signed at the time of executing the Will. The alternative route for authenticating the Will, when there is no self-proving affidavit, is executing an oath of witness to the Will. This will involve tracking down one of the witnesses and taking their testimony regarding the execution ceremony in front of a probate clerk or Judge.
The additional witness would provide a sworn statement testifying that they saw the person whose assets are being distributed after their death sign the Last Will and Testament. The authentication process can be complex, especially when there is no self-proving affidavit. You will need guidance from a probate attorney to navigate it.
Filing for Probate
One crucial aspect of inheritance claims is the probate process. This is the legal process involved in settling a deceased person’s assets and distributing them to their rightful heirs. The deceased person’s assets must first be located and valued, after which their debts and liabilities must be settled before their estate is passed on to beneficiaries.
Usually, the probate estate is opened in court by someone with a legal interest in the deceased’s estate, usually the executor or personal representative named in a Will, if one was created before demise. If a person dies without a Will, their close relatives, such as a spouse or an adult child, can petition the court to appoint them to administer the estate as the personal representative. If your loved one passed without naming an executor in their Will, you, as a beneficiary or any other descendant of the deceased, can petition the court to open probate and be appointed as the personal representative.
Locating and Protecting The Assets
The Will executor or personal representative would need to locate assets the deceased left behind. This task can be challenging, but one of the quickest ways to track down assets is to thoroughly review documents such as tax returns and insurance policies.
It is also the responsibility of the personal representative to ensure that the deceased’s assets are secure. For instance, if your loved one’s home is no longer inhabited, you should turn off appliances, ensure their pets are looked after, and lock and park their vehicle in a safe place. Personal belongings and key pieces of identification, such as the deceased’s passport, driver’s license, medical card, social insurance card, credit cards, jewelry, wallet, briefcase, purse, and documentation for bonds, stocks, and investment accounts, should also be kept safe. As a representative, you don’t need to move into the deceased’s home in order to protect it. What you need to do is prevent foreclosure by ensuring that mortgages, insurance, and taxes are paid.
Another step to protect the assets would be to notify banks, insurance companies, and credit card companies where your loved one has held accounts. You should also cancel existing credit cards and all subscriptions they have and redirect their emails to a safe location. If your loved one ran a business before passing, you should also arrange for its ongoing management while the probate process continues. If a Trust was included in the deceased’s Will, you must take steps to ensure that those Trust assets are secure or invested properly. A Trust is that part of the estate set aside on specific terms and conditions, usually for minor children listed as beneficiaries. The trustee, usually the Will executor, would be responsible for safeguarding those assets, filing yearly Trust tax returns, and releasing the funds to the named beneficiary as directed by the Will.
Making Funeral Arrangements
The personal representative would be responsible for making funeral arrangements and paying the associated expenses per the deceased’s wishes. They would also need to review the terms of the Will with the other beneficiaries and communicate with them about the progress of the probate process and when they should expect to receive their inheritance.