Your parent, before passing away, named you the personal representative of their estate. You worry that because you do not know your exact responsibilities, you may not serve as the best personal representative.
Personal representatives make specific choices for their executor’s property and assets after the executor has passed away. Your role involves serious responsibility, and you want to understand the basic tasks that a personal representative takes on before you make decisions about assets. Because of the quantity of work, you may find it necessary to hire an estate planning attorney to help you divide assets of your parent’s estate. Doing so, you can properly serve as a personal representative for your loved one.
Indiana duties of personal representatives
According to Indiana code, personal representatives may complete many tasks related to their loved one’s estates without order of the court. Understanding that you have full control of your parent’s assets is essential in deciding how you will proceed with delegating funds and maintaining property.
As a personal representative, you will have the authority to make many deicisons involving:
- Retaining your parent’s assets before distribution
- Receiving assets from fiduciaries
- Enforcing or declining your parent’s current contracts
- Giving money to charitable organizations on behalf of your parent if obligated by contract
- Obtaining or selling your parent’s assets
- Making repairs in your parent’s property or building
- Developing your parent’s land
- Paying your parent’s taxes
- Continuing to run your parent’s business
- Controlling and safeguarding all of your parent’s personal property
- Employing agents to advise or assist you in carrying out duties
Attorneys: Easing the job of a personal representative
As the executor of your parent’s estate, you find incredible amounts of work to be done. You still balance your work and your own home life, and you find yourself confused as to what to do with specific assets and parent’s ongoing obligations.
Hiring an estate planning attorney may remove significant burden from your situation. These attorneys have immense expertise and understanding in both family financial situations and estate planning laws, so they may have the ability to sort out financial dilemmas and designate assets.
Further, estate planning attorneys can give real, specific advice on your unique personal representative duties. Whether the death of your parent left loose ends, large assets or confusing trust documents, attorneys have the ability to ease your responsibility.
Personal representatives have the unique position of delegating their loved one’s assets. Should you find yourself confused about the description of duties, contact an experienced estate planning attorney to guide you in the right direction in upholding your responsibility.
