So You're the Executor: A Step-by-Step Guide to Settling an Estate: Probate, Debts, Taxes and Distributing Assets Without Losing Your Mind

This is a plain-spoken, step-by-step companion for the ordinary person asked to do an extraordinary job. It does not assume a law degree, and it does not pad the hard parts with vague reassurance. It walks you through the actual sequence of a routine estate, from the first two weeks to the final discharge, so you always know what comes next.

Inside, you will find:

What being named means, and what it does not mean, in plain language

The concrete steps of the first two weeks, from the death certificate to securing the home

How to locate and read the will, and what happens when there is none

Opening probate: the forms, the filing, and what the court actually wants from you

Taking a full inventory and valuing what is in it, from the obvious to the easy to miss

Notifying heirs, beneficiaries and creditors the right way, in the right order

Handling claims against the estate without overpaying or underpaying anyone

Managing estate accounts, property and ongoing bills while probate runs

The final tax returns, estate tax questions, and the deadlines that matter

Selling or transferring real estate and other property

Distributing what remains, fairly and on the record

Handling family conflict and a difficult beneficiary without losing the relationship or the estate

Special situations: no will, a small estate, and property in another state

Closing the estate for good, and taking care of yourself through the process

Written for the reader who needs to act, not just understand, the book closes with a complete executor's checklist and a glossary of the estate and probate terms you will actually run into.

You were handed this job in the middle of a loss. This book is here to make the rest of it manageable.