On September 5th, 2012 we had the funeral for my Uncle. The funeral service went well and after the burial friends and family were invited back to my Uncle’s former home. Prior to my Uncle’s death I have been at that home about three or four days a week taking care of his bills and other personal issues while he was at the rehab hospital. So, when I walked into the home and saw a decorative ribbon restricting second floor access, a knot formed in my stomach.

As an aside, my Uncle lived in the house under a Life Estate agreement when his wife died. This allowed him to remain in the house and to care for the house, but on his passing, the home ownership reverted back to the children of his wife.

My first thought was that we needed access to the second floor bathroom. We were serving food and drink to around twenty people and half were elderly. So, I knew that restriction would be violated at some point in the day. As all the guests finally arrived and settled in everyone began to relax and the reception started out well. However, I was still wondering about that ribbon. Then it finally hit me. The ribbon was to prevent any beneficiary from going upstairs and looking over the personal possessions of my Uncle. Since most of the guests were beneficiaries this was a real concern unknown to me. Up until this point I still didn’t know the extent of my duties as executor. I thought that since I secured the items that were to be distributed from the will, everything would be fine. Let them look if they wanted to.

Near the end of day when people began to leave, the restriction was violated. I noticed a beneficiary descending the stairs and then approach me to discuss the estate. Then I noticed other family members coming down the stairs. I knew then that this wasn’t a bathroom issue. Some beneficiaries have been wandering around upstairs amid the personal possessions of my Uncle. It was at this point that I realized it was a huge mistake having the reception at the decedent’s home. What was I thinking? I then wondered what the consequences would be.