Task Wizard

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By default, the Tasks Tab displays in "Wizard View", where you can individually step through tasks to settle your estate. To instead see all tasks in a single list, you can switch to "List View" via the View | View List menu.

Note that EstateExec customizes the tasks according to the particulars of your estate, so this list can change somewhat over time as more becomes known about the estate. See also Track Tasks for information about the Tasks tab in general, and Key Duties for a high-level discussion about executor duties and individual tasks.

Using the Wizard

Wizard Task View

As illustrated in the diagram above, you can work with the Task Wizard as follows:

  1. Progress — Shows percentage completion for all estate tasks. You can click the icon to hide this section so you have more room to read about the task itself.
  2. Stages — Settling an estate can be loosely partitioned into 5 stages: you can go to the first task in a stage by clicking on the desired stage.
  3. View Mode — Click here to switch to List View so you can see all tasks at once in a scrollable list.
  4. Task Navigation — To see the next task, click (or use the View | Next Task menu). To skip ahead to the next task you haven't yet marked "Done", click .
  5. Due/Done — You can set or override a task's due date here, and mark the task "Done" when complete.
  6. Notes and Files — You can attach notes and files to a particular task (note that it's often better to attach a file to the related item instead, such as an asset or a transaction).
  7. Remove — If a task is inapplicable to your estate, you can remove it.
  8. Sidebar — The sidebar will automatically appear if your screen is wide enough. You can override when you see the sidebar via the View | Sidebar menu, or the View | Task Options menu.

Task Order and Timing

By default, EstateExec shows tasks grouped by settlement stage (e.g., Start, Resolve, etc.), and by due date within that stage. You can use the View | Show Due menu to tell EstateExec to ignore stage and sort purely by due date if you wish to step through the tasks purely by due date timing, Alternatively, you can also switch to List View to be able to see all tasks and sort by whatever criteria you want.

While we recommend that you read the tasks in order, since they gradually introduce you to important topics, we also recommend that you read ahead: some tasks can take months to finish, and there may be other things you should be working on at the same time.

Note that while EstateExec calculates default due dates where possible, you can set or modify the due date for any task to better fit your situation by clicking on the calendar icon next to the Due field in the status bar at the bottom of the page.

Custom Tasks

The EstateExec task list is not intended to be exhaustive, and it's likely that you will have additional tasks for your particular estate. You can add your own custom tasks when using List View (and see them in either View), but note that it can be overwhelming to try to structure every little "to-do" as an official task, and there is no legal requirement to track custom tasks: if your main goal with custom tasks is to have a record of your activities and time spent, you may want to consider the Time Log instead.

Estate Value

EstateExec marks certain tasks inapplicable depending on estate gross value (and other factors). When setting up a new estate, you are asked to provide a rough estimate for the estate gross value, so that EstateExec can determine the likely applicability of these tasks. You can change this estimate at any time via the Tasks Tab, you can just leave the estimate blank if you want to make decisions about these tasks yourself, and you can override the N/A determination for any task at any time.

Rather than using a gross value estimate, you can tell EstateExec to instead make these decisions based on the actual values of the assets listed on the Assets tab (although this doesn't really make sense in the early stages of the estate settlement process, when you are still trying to find all the assets and determine their values. To use actual values, select "Listed Assets" for Estate Gross Value Type in the Task Options dialog (available via the View | Task Options menu).

Advanced Features

Certain functionality is not available when in Task Wizard view, in order to keep interactions simple. See Task List view for additional functionality such creating custom tasks, assigning tasks, manually entering the date a task was completed, and more.

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