Pay Off Debt

Record a Payment by the Estate

To record the fact that the estate has paid some or all of the amount owed on a debt,

1. Select the "Debts" tab, and click the "Paid" cell for the debt being paid.
2. Enter information about the payment in the dialog that appears.
3. Press the "OK" button (as always, remember that your changes are not saved until you press the estate "Save All" button).

If you make a partial payment, the next time you click the "Paid" cell you will see a dialog listing all payments for that debt to date, as well as a button to add a new payment.

To keep the estate accounts balanced, EstateExec will also automatically record any debt payment as a transaction on the Cashflow tab: you don't have to do anything extra.

Alternative Cashflow Tab Method

Alternately, you can choose to enter payments via the Cashflow tab (it just takes a few more clicks):

1. Select the "Cashflow" tab, and click the "Create Transaction" button.
2. Select "Withdrawal" for the transaction type.
3. Select "Debt Payment" for the category.
4. Select particular debt for which you want to record a payment from the Item dropdown.
5. Make any desired changes to the default amount, date, notes, etc.
6. Press the "OK" button (as always, remember that your changes are not saved until you press the estate "Save All" button).

In addition to creating the transaction, EstateExec will automatically reduce the amount owed on the Debts tab. It doesn't matter whether you enter the payment via the Debts tab or the Cashflow tab; the results will be the same, and reflected everywhere throughout EstateExec.

Third Party Payments

Sometimes third parties (for example, relatives to the decedent) pay estate debts before official estate administration begins, or before the executor has access to estate funds.

To record the debt payment in such a case, go to the Debts Tab and edit the Owed Now amount of the paid Debt to reflect the remaining amount owed. If the debt has been fully resolved, make the Owed Now amount blank to indicate it is resolved. Explain in the Notes column what you did.

If the executor made the payment, go to the Executor Tab, select the Expenses table, and create a new executor expense for the amount you paid. When the time comes, record the reimbursement as you would for any other executor out-of-pocket expense.

If someone else made the payment, create a Debt to that person on the Debts Tab, with the Owed at Death amount blank and the Owed Now amount equal to the amount paid. If that person paid several estate debts, you can just combine this all into one Debt to that person for the total amount. Mention the details in the Notes column. When the time comes, record the reimbursement as you would for any other debt payment.