I thank all the supporters of The Common Executor for visiting during a turbulent year in 2021. In my absence, while administering my Mother’s estate, The Common Executor continued to grow. Although the growth may be due in part to the continued pandemic, I still appreciate the support The Common Executor receives from followers and visitors.

In 2021, I once again put aside posting to administer my Mother’s estate. Additionally, I had to take on odd jobs to handle increased expenses to run the blog as well as living expenses while handling the estate. However, the estate administration is winding down and I will be posting regularly in 2022.

Amazingly, The Common Executor enjoyed additional growth in visitors as well as revenues through the amazon affiliation in my absence. I thought for sure I would lose some support, but it never happened. The silver lining from 2021 is that I have new content to provide relating to probate avoidance. As a tease, it’s not as easy as I originally thought.

The Year in Review

In 2021, traffic increased by 3,943 visitors and views, which is lower than the increase in 2020. Additionally, revenue from the Amazon Affiliation remained steady and grew slightly from 2020. Obviously, the slower growth was due to my absence and lack of active participation in the blog.

Plans for Next Year

In 2022, changes will occur. Unfortunately, due to higher costs to run the blog, the new content will not be free. I will be partnering with Patreon to run a monthly subscription model for a minimal amount yet determined. I am not looking to make a killing, just enough to cover costs. All the original content will remain free except for some beneficiary related articles.

On a final note, I will continue to update the original content as well as provide new content related to my Mother’s estate. Although I expect to lose some traffic due to the new subscription model, I am still hopeful that 2022 will be a year of continued growth.

Top Posts in 2021

In 2021, the top posts were somewhat different than previous years. The top posts for 2020 are as follows:

• How to Handle a Belligerent Beneficiary
• Closing the Estate: Complete the Final Accounting
• Creating an Income and Expense Report for the Final Accounting
• Closing an Estate in a Formal Probate Process
• Distribution Rules for Inherited Roth IRA’s when the Estate is the Beneficiary

That’s it. Let’s hope for a much better year in 2022.

 

Thank you to all the followers and visitors of The Common Executor for visiting during a miserable year in 2020. Since the Common Executor provides information about estate administration, the blog enjoyed explosive traffic growth in 2020 due to the deadly pandemic spreading throughout the world.

On a personal note, I put aside posting articles in 2020 because of the illness and eventual death of my Mother. However, throughout this miserable year, I still attended to the blog and responded to questions asked by visitors.

Through it all, the Common Executor had a sensational year in growth and revenues that provided a slight silver lining to a heart-breaking year. As I am currently handling my Mother’s estate, I won’t be posting often. However, after settling the estate, I will have new material to post. In my second estate settlement, the posts will be about probate avoidance.

The Year in Review

In 2020, traffic increased by 8733 visitors and views nearly tripled. Additionally, as the pandemic continues to claim lives, I expect traffic to continue to grow at least through the first six months of 2021.

Additionally, revenue from the Amazon Affiliation nearly doubled in 2020 as more visitors bought books on estate administration than random gifts in the holiday season.

Finally, the poll of the year asked, “If asked, would you agree to serve as executor for an estate?” The results were as follows:

• 46% selected “Depends on person asking and the life they led”.
• 22% replied “I would consider it an honor”.
• 17% replied “Only if I could review the estate plan before accepting”.
• 10% selected “I don’t want the responsibility”.
• 3% replied “I wouldn’t have the time”.
• 2% replied “I don’t possess the necessary skills”.

Most encouraging about this poll is that over 60% of the respondents would accept only if certain considerations were met. The testator would need to be a person of character, or at least, invite the prospective executor to review the estate plan. The rest of the respondents gave an honest response ranging from accepting to serve without conditions to reasons why they wouldn’t accept. Based on the results, I like the way people are starting to think about estate planning and estate settlement. Hopefully, the Common Executor had something to do with the results.

Plans for Next Year

In 2021, I will begin anew with content from my current estate administration, which was set up to avoid probate. So, the new content will provide information on how well probate avoidance works and is a much better option than a formal probate procedure.

On a final note, although the blog enjoyed success due to unfortunate circumstances, let’s hope 2021 returns to normal at some point during the year. I would gladly give up traffic and revenue to return to a healthy, vibrant world.

Top Posts in 2020

In 2020, the top posts were somewhat different than previous years. I suspect the corona virus had something to do with this change. The top posts for 2020 are as follows:

• How to Handle a Belligerent Beneficiary
• Closing the Estate: Complete the Final Accounting
• Inherited Traditional IRA | Distribution Rules for Estate as Beneficiary
• Closing an Estate in a Formal Probate Process
• Creating an Income and Expense Report for the Final Accounting

That’s it. Let’s hope for a much better year in 2021.