Small Business Owners: Don’t Leave Your Executors in the Dark

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Planning Tips

Tags

Attorney, Business Accounts, Business Registration, Common Estates, Common Executors, Corporation, CPA, decedent, estate, Estate Administration, Estate Plan, Executor, Final Taxes, Schedule C, Small Business, Small Business Owners, Sole Proprietor

While constructing their estate plans, small business owners should advise their executors about changes in their business. Although the executors don’t need to know the day-to-day business operations, small business owners should inform their executors of the following:

Any sale of the business.
A change in registration of the business.
The succession plan for the business, if any.

Consequently, if the small business owners overlook their executors, the executors will experience a chaotic estate administration.

Continue reading →

Closing the Estate: Complete the Final Accounting

10 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Estate

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

Assent Forms, Attorney, Bank Fees, Bank Statements, Beneficiaries, Bookkeeping System, Close the Estate, estate account, Executor, Final Account, Final Accounting, Income and Expense Report, Income and Expenses, Inventory of Assets, Record Keeping System, Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule C

After updating the estate account and completing the final Inventory of Assets, it was time to complete the final accounting. As mentioned in the article Closing an Estate in a Formal Probate Process, the attorney sent me three schedules that made up the final account. With instructions to review the schedules, I began to look them over. During the review, the schedules were already organized by category. Additionally, provided values, presumably by the attorney, were on Schedule A and Schedule B. Since the attorney warned me that values would appear, this didn’t concern me. Also, although the categories surprised me a little, the attorney would explain the categories the next day. So, after my review, the task to complete the final accounting was ready to begin.

Continue reading →

Closing an Estate in a Formal Probate Process

19 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Robert Dowling in Probate

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Assent Forms, Attorney, Beneficiaries, Common Estates, Distribution, Estates, Executor, Final Account, Final Distribution, Formal Probate Process, Informal Closing, Inventory of Assets, Partial Distribution, Probate Court, Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule C, Simplified Probate Process

When closing an estate, some states that use a formal probate process, allow for an informal closing for common estates. These states simplified the probate process for estates that are straightforward; not complicated or contested. Fortunately, Massachusetts is one of those states. In Massachusetts, closing an estate using the simplified probate process involves the following tasks:

Complete a final Inventory of Assets.
Using the Inventory of Assets in the final accounting, complete the final accounting.
Under cover of an assent form, send copies of the Inventory of Assets and the final accounting to each beneficiary.
After receiving the signed assent forms from each beneficiary, the executor must sign the form called Account (MPC853). The signed Account form, with the original Inventory of Assets and final accounting attached, essentially closes the estate.
Make the final distribution to the beneficiaries.

In Massachusetts, the simplified probate process allows straightforward, common estates to avoid the probate court when closing an estate. Instead, the approval of the Inventory of Assets and final accounting from all the beneficiaries informally closes the estate.

Continue reading →

Secured By miniOrange

The Common Executor

~ A Journey into Estate Administration

Tag Archives: Schedule C

Small Business Owners: Don’t Leave Your Executors in the Dark

Closing the Estate: Complete the Final Accounting

Closing an Estate in a Formal Probate Process