Analyze Will

Contingent Heirs

It's common for a will to mention contingent heirs who may receive something if primary heirs are no longer living: EstateExec will list those heirs, and explain the contingency situations in the Notes column, but will not automatically assign any bequests or residuary shares to them — if a named heir is no longer living, please see Determining Heirs for instructions.

Add an Heir

If you want to add an heir to the list for some reason, you can click the Add button and fill in the information (for example, if the will talks about splitting the estate among the children, but doesn't mention them by name, or if another child was born after the will was written).

Delete an Heir

If you want to remove an heir from the list, select the heir using the checkmark in its leftmost column, and then click the Delete button (for example, if you don't want to clutter up EstateExec with contingency heirs that aren't relevant).

Matched Heirs

If you analyze the will after you have already entered some names on the Heirs Tab, EstateExec will attempt to match those names to the names in the will, so it can merge the results. In this case, the Merge column of the Heirs table will contain an icon that indicates whether the name was matched or not (person_check if the name was matched, person_add if instead the heir will be added).

If the name was matched, but was slightly different, EstateExec will show you the current name in parentheses after the name found in the will... and will keep the name you entered yourself.

If you want to unmatch an heir and just make it a new heir, you can click on the Merge cell for that heir and change it to the "Add" option. If you want to match an heir from the will to an heir you already entered yourself, and EstateExec has not made that connection, you can click on the Merge cell for that heir and select the "Match" option, then select the desired heir you already created via the popup menu that will appear.

Bequest Heir

EstateExec will show the intended heir for a given bequest, which you can override if you think something needs to be corrected by clicking the corresponding table cell and choosing the desired heir.

Bequest Asset

EstateExec will also describe the asset named in a bequest, and attempt to categorize its asset type (e.g., house, vehicle, etc.). You can override either of these by clicking the corresponding table cells and entering the desired values.

If EstateExec has matched a bequest with an asset you previously entered on the Assets Tab, it will show a checkmark in front of the asset name. You can override this by selecting the bequest using its checkmark in the leftmost column, and then clicking the "Link/Unlink Asset" button at the top of the table.

Tip: EstateExec will often use a fairly descriptive name to identify an asset, but long names aren't really practical for use throughout the software, so you may want to shorten them to something more manageable.

Bequest Amount

A bequest can either be for a percentage of an asset (often 100% of the entire asset), or for a fixed $ amount. If there is a percentage entered and you wish to change it to a fixed amount for some reason, first delete the percentage in the % column, and then enter the fixed amount in the $ column.

Matched Bequests

If you analyze the will after you have already entered some bequests on the Distributions Tab, EstateExec will attempt to match those entries if it makes sense, so it can merge the results. In this case, the Merge column of the Bequests table will contain an icon that indicates whether the bequest was matched or not (playlist_add_check if the bequest was matched, playlist_add if instead the bequest will be added).

If a bequest is matched, you cannot override its heir or asset name here (but of course you can always make changes later on the main estate Tabs). However, you can override the asset type and the amount of the bequest.

If you want to unmatch a bequest and just make it a new bequest, you can click on the Merge cell for that bequest and change it to the "Add" option. If you want to match a bequest from the will to a bequest you already entered yourself, and EstateExec has not made that connection, you can click on the Merge cell for that bequest and select the "Match" option, then select the desired bequest you already created via the popup menu that will appear.

If you want to match a bequest yourself, change the Merge icon to the "Add" option, and then select the desired bequest from the list you previously entered on the Distributions Tab.