Sympathy and congratulations. Both are in order if a loved one -- perhaps your aunt -- died and named you executor of her will. She trusted you to give away everything she owned. You are her bearer of gifts, but just as importantly, you're obligated to follow her instructions and stay in guardrails set by the court. If you're honest and reliable, and your family is not contentious, you'll easily live up to your aunt's expectations.

Your first step will be to make the will public information. You file it in the probate court of the county where your aunt lived. You'll also file forms stating that all the heirs named by your aunt -- technically they are devisees -- know that you're filing her will. If any heirs believe you're not up to the task, they can object.

The court needs to prove the will you file is authentic. Clerks will scrutinize the will to be sure it is original (copies are almost never accepted) and has signatures of two witnesses and a notary public. These serve as testimony that your aunt intended her will to be directions for you to execute after she dies. The notary's signature makes the will "self-proving:" There's no need for the witnesses to come to court to testify they watched your aunt sign.

After the will is declared authentic and before you make gifts from your aunt to her loved ones, you must pay her creditors. If businesses or people present debts from your aunt within a year of her death, they collect their money, plus interest, before her family gets anything. If your aunt was in a nursing home, it's very likely that MassHealth subsidized her care and has a right to be repaid. This means the Commonwealth of Massachusetts already recorded a lien on her house. It will petition the court like any creditor with priority over your aunt's loved ones.

If you distribute your aunt's goods before a creditor shows an enforceable debt in a timely manner, you will be personally liable to deliver what your aunt's estate owed. The court will enforce the debt.

If family members aren't happy with what your aunt left them, they can contest the will. When this happens, you'll regret you agreed to be the executor. It will take months for the court to decide what your aunt wanted to give to her family. You'll need a lawyer and perhaps an accountant to speak on your behalf in probate court. The expenses can reach tens of thousands of dollars, paid by your aunt's estate, leaving much less for her family.

Sometimes, a family member will disclaim the gift his aunt gave him. Typically this happens when the inheritance pushes a devisee to a higher tax bracket. He may pass his gift to his children if the will and court allow it.

If a family member is getting disability benefits from the government, a gift from your aunt might be unwelcome: It could push the disabled person's assets above the limit for his subsidy. A well-written will anticipates this and directs you to appoint a trustee to manage a trust for the disabled devisee.

If your aunt received income in her last year of life, you'll need to file her tax return by April 15 of the following year. If your aunt left $2 million or more, there will be an estate tax payable within nine months to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If your aunt's estate doesn't exceed $15 million, there's no federal estate tax due.

If your aunt did not own real estate and leaves no more than $25,000, probate is blessedly simple. Creditors retain their right to collect debts within a year. But you have only one form to file and you'll be appointed promptly. The court doesn't expect any drama from your aunt's family. Nor should you.



PHILIP ARCIDIACONO, ESQ, IS THE PRINCIPAL OF ARCHDEACON LAW ASSOCIATES, A LAW FIRM IN CONCORD AND LUNENBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, THAT SPECIALIZES IN ELDER LAW AND ESTATE PLANNING. HE CAN BE REACHED AT PA@ARCHDEACONLAW.COM. THE FIRM'S WEBSITE IS WWW.ARCHDEACONLAW.COM.