FOUNDATION NEWS Caring for the Ministry of Grace: "Ecclesia Perpetua" September 2012 | |||||
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By Molly Hallgrimson as a help to anyone who is named an executor.) | |||||
Many years ago, when my brother divorced, he made a new will. He named me executor of his estate, and I didn’t think any more about it until he died suddenly eight years ago. That is when I became a student of something I would not likely need to know again. Let me explain: My brother, sister, and I were going to have a mini-family reunion when we attended his step-daughter’s wedding in California. The night before my sister and I were to leave for California, I received a call from my brother’s ex-wife saying that she had received a call from the Alameda County sheriff’s office, stating that my brother had died. She gave me the number of the deputy I was to call. My brother’s friends had not seen him for several days and were concerned after driving over to his home and seeing newspapers piled up. I had also tried calling several times as well, and was not able to reach him. I didn’t know the names of his friends or neighbors in order to contact them. The deputy explained that I needed to contact the Alameda County Morgue to make arrangements for my brother’s body. I took my copy of my brother’s will with me and we left for California. Instead of attending a wedding, we were making burial arrangements and beginning the probate process. I realized that I needed a local attorney to help with this process, so I contacted a local Lutheran pastor in my brother’s town. He put me in touch with an attorney who was a church member. She was very helpful in giving me the name of another attorney in Alameda County that specializes in probate. I soon discovered that just because I was named executor in my brother’s will did not give me ANY authority to do anything, UNTIL the court appointed me executor. The Alameda County Probate Court only meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, and only hears so many cases at a time. My brother died on August 24th and I wasn’t appointed executor by the court until October 17th. Meanwhile, a funeral/memorial service had to be planned; a realtor had to be found; the condo had to be cleaned; and paperwork had to be completed, all while staying in a hotel, dealing with grief and not having any access to his bank accounts. Continued below. |