If a court has appointed you as the executor of a probate estate, which means you are the person that will be handling and settling all the financial and legal affairs of someone who has died, there is certain record-keeping that you must do.
The first is to keep track of all the assets that belong to the person who has passed away– stocks, bank accounts, insurance policies, stuff like that.
You’re going to need to file that in what’s called an inventory for the court. This lists all those assets with some sort of description as well as the value. You also want to keep track of whatever expenses you incur. One example would be if you have to buy a bond to insure your performance .
What does that mean?
Some judges require executors to purchase a bond.
The bond is basically an insurance policy for the heirs, in case you don’t properly handle your duties as executor and pay everyone their proper inheritance.
The reason to do this is to make sure you keep track of all this so that you can get reimbursed.
Lastly, keep track of your time.
In certain states and in certain cases, you can get reimbursed or paid for your time that you spend if it’s over a certain amount.
