Enter Decedent Information

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EstateExec can provide better service if it knows a few things about the decedent, which you can enter on the Decedent Tab (this tab will typically be named with the label you have given the estate, such as "Mom" or "Julia Conterro"). In addition, having this information in a central place will be very helpful, as it will be referred to repeatedly throughout the estate settlement process.

While most of the fields on the Decedent Tab are self-explanatory, here are a few notes:

Date of Death

The date of death is used to calculate due dates on the Tasks tab, to determine applicable tax and inheritance laws, and more. If the estate owner is still living, just leave this blank.

State (and Country) of Residence

It is important to set the legal state of residence correctly, as it is used to determine various estate requirements. Normally, the decedent's legal state (and country) of residence are set during the initial estate creation, but if necessary you can change this information via the Decedent Tab. You can use EstateExec for any country as desired, but the Tasks and the accounting practices specifically support US states and Canadian provinces.

Will and Funeral Instructions

It can be helpful to keep all estate-related information together, so you may wish to upload a copy of the will and/or funeral instructions for easy access. However, EstateExec itself does not need a copy of the will: we supply this capability simply as a convenience.

Please also be aware that a digital copy of a will is usually not considered legally valid: an actual, signed, paper copy of a will is still the default standard. If you are entering information in advance, you may also wish to upload instructions for locating the original will (you can upload multiple files, one at a time). And/or you can put these instructions in the notes of the Locate Will task.

EIN

To obtain an EIN for the estate, you will have to apply to the IRS (see First 3 Months)

SSN

EstateExec doesn't use the social security number for anything; this field is just for your convenience so you can have one location to store everything. You don't have to enter it here if you don't want to.

Phone & Email

Don't worry if you don't have the phone numbers or email address. These can sometimes be helpful in proving identity or logging in, but they aren't strictly required.

Tip: People sometimes wonder where they can enter the decedent's marital status, but this information isn't relevant here. If the decedent has a surviving spouse, you can enter that on the Heirs tab, selecting Spouse for the Relationship.

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