Have you been listed as the personal representative for a deceased loved one's estate? If your loved one recently passed away, you may be feeling overwhelmed. Not only are you trying to grieve the loss of someone you love, but you're going to have to take care of some major obligations. If you're not sure what the personal representative must do, there are several things you'll need to know to ensure that you're taking care of the responsibilities that were assigned to you because the deceased individual trusted you.

Obtaining the Finances

Before you can take further action, you'll need to obtain the finances belonging to the deceased loved one. He or she may have left behind a bank account, life insurance policy, and several properties in his or her name. It may be a lot for you to go through, so you might want to hire a probate lawyer to walk you through the process. The probate lawyer could make sure you're gaining access to the funds needed to pay off any of the debts belonging to the deceased and to give money to other family members and loved ones who were listed in the will.

Pay Off the Debt

Not everyone passes away with a lot of debt in their name. However, there is always a possibility of it, so you'll need to find out if your loved one has any unpaid debt in his or her name. If so, you'll have to use some of the finances to pay the debt off. If taxes must be paid on different properties, you can use some of the money belonging to the deceased individual to pay those taxes and make sure that everything is in good standing.

Disburse Funds to Loved Ones

As the personal representative of a loved one's estate, you have the responsibility of disbursing funds to loved ones who were in the will. Your deceased loved one may have been quite specific about who gets what in his or her will. You have a serious obligation to abide by the will and make sure those family members and friends receive the funds that were meant for them.

When you're the personal representative, your job is to make sure any debt gets paid off and to disburse funds or properties to other family members who were in the deceased person's will. As a personal representative, you will have some major responsibilities to take care of. If you want to make sure you do everything the proper way, you can hire a probate lawyer like Patricia K Wood Atty to walk you through the process and assist you with making sure everything gets done correctly.

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