Simple Money Wins

Based on feedback from you, the audience, we're pausing these episodes and will focus on writing instead: Our blog: https://anthonyspark.com/#blog Our books on https://amazon.com/author/anthonyspark Reviews always appreciated! Thank you for sharing all your amazing questions and stories, and thank you for listening!

There is no legal time limit to transfer real estate after death. It could happen quickly, or it could take years. We've seen cases where the real estate doesn't get transferred until generations later. A fast sale is ideal, because problems can emerge in the meantime. There is a lag between the date of death and when the executor gets legal authority to handle the property. So, even “fast” isn't very fast. How long does it take to get preliminary letters? The executor does not have full authority over the estate until he gets letters testamentary (or letters of administration) from the court. Preliminary letters give the authority to collect and manage property of the estate. They will not grant authority to distribute property. Preliminary letters are handy for entering the real estate for repairs, etc. Theoretically, the executor can get preliminary letters within a week. They can be issued same-day in emergency situations. Realistically, getting the letters is a slow process. We've had properties with leaks and rodents, and it still took us weeks to get preliminary letters. We called the court daily and filed papers often, and it didn't move as fast as we needed it to move. If you have an estate without emergencies, you probably won't get preliminary letters. If the court takes weeks to respond to emergency petitions, they aren't going to move any faster for “normal” estates. How to prevent foreclosure on inherited property Undoing a foreclosure proceeding has legal costs and other implications. No one wants to deal with that. To prevent foreclosure, first notify the lender. Even though the mortgage company can't give you much information without court letters, you should still inform them that you are working on the estate. If the lender doesn't hear from anyone, they will go right to their foreclosure counsel. When folks hear the word “foreclosure,” they think of mortgages. Your homeowners' association or co-op board can also take action, because they aren't getting paid either. Again, they won't have the legal authority to work with you. But you can let them know that you are getting preliminary letters. You should also look up and notify any other potential lien holders. There could be a mechanic's lien, or a family member with a non-bank mortgage on the property. You might be surprised what a simple letter can do. Let them know that you are working on the estate so that no one else starts a process that is costly to undo. What to do when property owner dies There are certain things you can and can't do without court letters. First, you cannot forward the mail. The post office needs legal authority to do that. You most likely cannot change the locks. Although, this is a gray area. If you are in a managed co-op or homeowners' association, they will bar you from securing the property. You have a better chance of securing a property that is not managed. If you think it will be a contested probate, don't change the locks. You can get in big trouble, especially in New York. You may be able to winterize the property and secure it in other ways. Piled up mail and overgrown grass signal vacancy and can attract thieves or vandals. Even if you don't have legal authority to clean up the newspapers, the court won't give you a hard time deterring criminals. Remember, the property manager may not even live in the same state. Make a relationship with the doorman or superintendent and notify them of the owner's death. They can keep an eye on the property and let you know if something looks off. Without court letters, you won't get access to the interior of the property. But, the doorman can let you know of a leak or pests or a problem that affects the nearby units. Communicate with everyone until you get legal authority from the court to handle the property. Preliminary communication can stop a whole lot of problems from starting. My book, “How Probate Works,” can help you know what to expect with probate real estate. Request your free consultation

We've talked before about not making a loved one your executor. I recently read an article titled, “2 Big Reasons Not to Make a Loved One the Executor of Your Estate.” Here, we'll add our own perspective for why it's not a great idea. Being executor can be emotionally difficult It is a duty that begins almost immediately after the death of your loved one. You are grieving the loss while facing a list of daunting tasks. Even normal probate is a lot of work and can be tough while grieving. In a somewhat difficult probate, you navigate the decedent's family and friend relationships. If you are also family and friends with these people, it can be awkward. They will continually ask you when they will receive their inheritance. Some will complain that they get less money than others. You may not get far into the probate process before this happens. It goes without saying that a difficult and dramatic probate is even more burdensome and draining. Being executor is long and time consuming If you think probate lasts a few weeks or months, think again! Probate lasts many months and sometimes many years. Over the past few years, we've seen probate take longer than ever. Many of the executor's tasks must be done in person. This means walking into a bank and taking care of the assets face-to-face. It is very inconvenient, especially if the executor works and has a busy home life. The executor cannot delegate responsibilities by power of attorney. An attorney can help with many tasks, but not all. Things an executor needs to know The executor should have an understanding of legal issues and risks of being executor! An executor is personally liable for mistakes they make during the probate process. This includes asset valuations, purchases, sales, tax complications, failure to pay debts, and more. The executor is liable out of their own pocket. Creditors can come after the executor's bank and brokerage accounts and their home. There are a lot of tax issues when administering an estate. The taxing authorities know that this is their last chance to wring every last cent out of that social security number. The IRS will go through the assets with a fine tooth comb. What if your executor doesn't have the skills to manage assets? The executor should be able to manage real estate, financial assets, and unique assets such as small businesses, collectibles, and bitcoin. If your executor doesn't have an existing skill set for managing assets, don't count on them learning when you pass. It's too much to ask someone to learn how to manage assets while they are mourning. Many people think things will be fine as long as their executor hires the right people (lawyer, CPA, etc.). It is important to have a good team during probate, but it is not enough. Each of these professionals have their own incentives and opinions. And remember, none of them are personally liable. Just because you hire a lawyer to help with probate doesn't mean you will get the best advice. Even if your CPA is great at doing your income tax returns doesn't mean they know how to do tax returns for an estate. You need professionals who have a solid understanding of probate. The article we reviewed also recommends working with experienced professionals. People are starting to hear more about professional executors. Whereas, even 5 years ago, it wasn't quite as popular. If you want to learn more, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor.” When people understand what professional executors do, they like the option. They are thrilled to have that burden lifted off of their loved ones. Request your free consultation    

In this episode, we will talk about self-custodied bitcoiners (not those who have their coin on an exchange or with a third party). Some bitcoiners share their seed phrase with their spouse or adult children. Or perhaps they share their cloned wallet with those trusted individuals.   It's temptingly easy, essentially frictionless to share your seed phrase. But, as we'll discuss, it can be insecure for reasons you may not think of. Sharing your seed phrase can be dangerously inflexible and not future-proof. Relationships change One reason that this plan is not flexible is because relationships change. Married couples can become divorced or widowed. You may have a falling-out with a loved one. Your relationship with your child may be good now, but the relationship could become strained or even estranged. If this happens, you may not want them knowing your seed phrase. That's like giving the keys to the kingdom to someone you don't trust anymore. They'll won't keep it secure Say you give your seed phrase to your spouse or adult son. No matter how wonderful they are, your loved one may not realize how important it is to keep your seed phrase safe. It's not that they have bad intentions, they may just have bad operational security. Imagine if they tape your seed phrase to the refrigerator so they don't forget! Besides exposing it, they may lose your seed phrase altogether. Don't think that you'll be successful in training or teaching your trusted loved one. Remember, self-custody is like a completely foreign language to them. When you first started with bitcoin, how many months or years did it take for you to understand how it all works? Your spouse or son might not want to learn about bitcoin, so they might take a photograph of the seed phrase or put it on a password manager app.   What about giving them a clone hardware wallet instead? All they need to do is remember the PIN to open it. This still isn't a great idea for the same reasons we just discussed. Keeping the hardware wallet up to date is a job. There may be updates every couple of months, and your spouse or son needs to remember to manage those updates.   Besides, there is the risk of hardware failure. If your loved one doesn't have the seed phrase and the hardware wallet is the only way to access your bitcoin, you're looking at catastrophic loss. Even more robust external hard drives fail. Such technology could be outdated and difficult to open after many years. You can't take back a secret Once you've shared the seed, you can't take it back. Think back to grade school: you tell someone your deepest secret and then realize that kid is a blabbermouth! You can't undo what's been done. Same with sharing your seed phrase. What if your relationship with that trusted person changes? You'll need to create a new wallet and transfer your funds, otherwise your “secret” is with an untrustworthy person.   We see this with our non-bitcoin clients. They make a treasure map or write a letter of instruction telling their trusted person where everything is located. Once you create that treasure map or letter, you have to keep it up to date constantly. Life changes could occur making it inapplicable. Similarly, if you don't trust that person anymore, you need to move everything and make new maps and letters. Now you know why it is not secure to share your seed phrase. Hopefully this helps you to make the best bitcoin inheritance plan for your situation.   I am working on my bitcoin book, and I hope to get it out there soon! In the meantime, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor”, available on Amazon. If you are a bitcoiner, you may want to consider hiring a professional executor to navigate this complex component of your estate. Request your free consultation

This is a very common question that we get from Solo Agers. We'll review the pros and cons of making that decision. Reasons to sell your home before you die The biggest reason Solo Agers want to sell their home before they die is because they don't want to leave a mess for their loved ones. Otherwise, there may be a lot of cleaning, maintenance, and packing for the heirs to do. Additionally, the house may need renovations before it is in sellable condition.   Another reason is that Solo Agers may want to downsize anyway. Downsizing is a different topic, so we won't focus on that here. Reasons to leave selling your home to your executor after you die I often suggest that our Solo Agers live where they want and leave the task of selling the home to the executor after they pass.   Don't spend your final years cleaning, packing, staging, and moving if that's not what you want to do. It's probably not on your bucket list to clean out your garage before you die. Do those things you always wanted to do. Enjoy life!   If you still feel that obligation to put things in order for your heirs, please know that probate is a mess no matter what. Don't bother trying to leave it perfect. What if you clean out your home and you live longer than you expected? Now a new mess will accumulate. Even if you could know the exact date of your death, it still won't work out perfectly.   Another example of “helping” heirs is making treasure maps to your keys or passwords. Don't do it. You may move your keys or change your password and forget to update your treasure map. You don't need to spend your final days and years making your death convenient for everyone else.   If you are still worried about burdening your heirs or executor, you could hire a professional executor. This could be us, or a bank, or a fiduciary company. It is the job of the professional executor to handle the cleanout, renovations, etc. Because we do these things so often, it's not a big deal for us. And if something complex were to happen, then that's our job, too. That's what we get paid for. You can rest knowing that your professional executor is experienced and capable. You won't have to burden your heirs with the tasks, and you won't have to spend your final years worrying about what will happen after you die. Most Solo Agers are relieved when they learn that a professional executor can handle all of this. My book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” can help you decide which tasks (if any) you should worry about before you die.   I enjoy meeting more and more Solo Agers; it's a growing population. As I work with them, I also learn a lot of things that I can pass along to all of you. Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”  

When someone dies, many folks are confused about who owns the house during probate, right after the death. Technically, the heirs own it immediately upon death, subject to debts and taxes of the estate. But, sometimes is not clear who the heirs are. The probate process decides who exactly are the heirs and places an executor in charge to sort out all those debts and taxes. So, the heirs own the house, but if it is not clear who the heirs are, then you kind of need to wait to see who really owns it. Understandably, this is a bit confusing. We'll cover common questions on who owns the property during probate. Can multiple heirs inherit a house? Yes, multiple heirs can own the house either by will or deed. As you can imagine, having more than one heir inherit the house leads to a lot of problems. The most common problem is when one heir lives in the house and won't leave. Or maybe heirs can't agree on how to manage the property. And, sometimes one heir wants to keep the property and the rest want to sell it. They might even disagree on how to buy each other out. These conflicts often lead to a probate sale so everyone can take their share and walk away. Can the executor sell a house that is in probate? Does the executor have the power and authority to sell a house that is in probate? Yes, absolutely. Besides, selling the house is often necessary. Maybe the will instructs the executor to sell the house and divide the proceeds among the heirs. Sometimes the house has to be sold to cover the estate bills/taxes that the bank accounts can't cover. Or, as mentioned above, the house has to be sold because multiple heirs can't agree on what to do with the property. Do all heirs have to agree to sell property? Preferably, all the heirs should agree; that would make life easier! But they don't necessarily have to agree. If there is a court-appointed executor, then executor can make the impartial decision (if it's a professional executor and not a family member). If the executor is a family member or one of the heirs, then the decision isn't really impartial and there is potential for drama. If multiple heirs are on the deed, then the house is technically not part of probate. If heirs are in conflict about the deed, then there will be expensive court proceedings to either bring the property back into the estate so the executor can decide, or a judicial partition where a judge decides. By the time these expensive court proceedings are over, there might not be much profit. Naming multiple heirs on a deed is a variant of what we call the “beneficiary problem.” Probate We get these questions a lot, so hopefully this helps clear things up for our callers and listeners! To learn more about the ins and outs of probate, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

What are the risks of being an executor? An executor has a lot of power and responsibility during probate, but is correspondingly accountable for everything that happens within the estate. We'll cover how an executor has risk of even personal liability, how long that risk lasts, and how an executor can protect himself from these risks. Executor personally liable for debts and taxes The executor has personal liability for debts, taxes, and anything wrong with the estate. If an executor makes an error, the court's first reaction is to deny payment of the executor's commission. If the commission is not enough to cover the court-determined error, the executor's PERSONAL assets (home, bank accounts, etc.) are legally at risk if court rules that the executor screwed up. When someone chooses an executor and that person accepts the role, it's very possible that neither party is aware of the risks. The risks can be more than the executor forgetting to pay a tax bill and becoming personally liable for it. Some scenarios are a bit more nuanced. For example, the executor sells the real estate, but at the closing a few months later, the heirs dispute the sale price. The heirs might seek the difference in the price from the executor's commission or from him personally. Another example is when the executor fails to pay a “knowable” debt or tax or fails to take the steps to find out if debts exist. How long is an executor liable for debts? Theoretically, the executor can be liable forever. There are some limits, but practically an aggressive lawsuit can get around those limits Many states have laws that give creditors 7 months (or similar time limit) to submit verified claims. There is a specific legal procedure to become an official creditor or else the executor is not personally liable for that debt. However, even in absence of a formal claim, the executor can be held to have constructively known about the debt, or even should have known! The best practice when closing an estate is to ask heirs to sign a receipt and release, which says the heirs accept their check as full and final settlement, and agree not to try to sue the executor later. Theoretically, the release is iron-clad protection for the executor. But practically, the heirs can get around it. An heir could claim that she signed the receipt and release because the executor failed to disclose information, otherwise she wouldn't have signed it, etc. How executors can protect themselves The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself if you are an executor. First, get the tax clearance. Don't distribute estate funds until the IRS and state have confirmed you're good to go. Although painfully slow, they have procedures to formally release an executor from personal liability. If you fail to get the tax clearance (or even fail to search for tax that is owed), the taxing authorities have and will slap you with large and completely unexpected tax bills. Second, when closing an estate, do a full accounting with receipt and releases. The accounting is composed of the books and records of the estate in court-approved format. It provides full disclosure to the heirs and gives heirs/creditors less wiggle room to argue that the executor failed to inform them. Next, keep a reserve. Hang on to a small percentage of the estate funds to pay those surprise debts or taxes, just in case. Of course, the reserve will be paid out to the heirs eventually. But, give yourself some time to make extra sure that the estate doesn't owe any debts or taxes. No matter how good an executor is and even though the estate is closed, things tend to come up down the road. If you have a decent reserve, then you won't have to hunt down the heirs asking them to pay back the debt. And believe me, the heirs will not return your calls and you'll be out of luck. Lastly, you can protect yourself by not being an executor: hire a professional! Even with a good probate lawyer, amateur executors are prone to making poor decisions that leave them open to risk. Why not have an experienced professional making those risk cost-benefit decisions, instead? Even a small mistake could leave an executor open to risks. For those of you who are considering being executors or for those who are thinking about who to name as your executor, it is useful to know what an executor has to go through. To learn more, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor.” Request your free consultation    

A letter of instruction will likely fail for your bitcoin inheritance plan and should have only a marginal role in your plan, if any. Search for “bitcoin inheritance” and you will probably find lots of people advising you to write a letter of instruction for your heirs. We talked about this and even provided a sample letter of instruction. Now, having spent a bit more time delving into different approaches to bitcoin inheritance, we're de-emphasizing a letter of instruction. Note: this applies to self-custodied bitcoin, not held through a third-party. Educate your heirs A letter of instruction is a subcategory the general approach: I'll just educate my heirs! Some folks set up a fairly complicated bitcoin inheritance plan, but assure themselves, “I'll make sure to educate my (spouse, son, etc.) on self-custody.” Like any other educational endeavor, you must have an eager and willing student, or it just won't stick. You can educate them on self-custody as hard as you want, but unless your heir is self-motivated to learn, it probably won't work well. They may appear to understand in the short term to appease you, but that “knowledge” will leak out of their heads almost immediately. Think back to when you started your Bitcoin journey: if you weren't that interested and someone started discussing self-custody and hardware wallets, your eyes probably glazed over. You could blame the lack of self-motivation to learn on the ever-evolving status of bitcoin, but this is not the case. We see it all the time with other legacy assets like art, collectibles, and especially small businesses. Take, for example, a father who spent his life building his profitable small family business to pass on to his children. Sometimes the heirs aren't interested in running the family store after dad passes. No matter how much that father tries to teach them how to run the business, they just don't care enough to learn. You don't want to rely on your heirs' knowledge of Bitcoin to make sure it passes properly, because self-custodied bitcoin that doesn't have a transfer of custody upon your death is basically lost bitcoin. Letters don't work with even legacy assets Even if you are the Shakespeare of letters of instruction, you still won't be able to write a perfect letter to make your heirs understand how to successfully gain custody of your bitcoin. We've seen it with even legacy assets: letters of instructions don't really help. Why not? Your situation and your assets change over time, and people overestimate their ability to keep these letters up to date. It's a lot to remember and to actually update your letter every few months. On the flip side, most heirs (and most humans) are terrible at reading, comprehending, and following instructions. Some people struggle with IKEA furniture instructions... Just imagine how hard it will be to understand a letter of instruction especially after the death of a family member or friend. On top of that, your letter probably won't be one page long; it will be several pages of difficult things for an amateur to comprehend. It's not because your heirs are dumb; it's the emotional circumstances. We see heirs struggle with even basic assets that they are super familiar with (bank, brokerage accounts, etc.). Self-custody bitcoin would be a HUGE hurdle for a non-bitcoiner to deal with, especially relying only on your letter of instruction. Bitcoin inheritance treasure hunt A letter of instruction is too often a “treasure map” to various seed phrase shards or wallet locations. Turning it into a treasure hunt is a terrible idea. It's an even more complicated and worse version of a letter of instruction. We've seen treasure maps and letters of instruction fail for simple things like the keys to a storage locker or the location of important original documents. What happens if things get moved around or your letter isn't up to date? It's a dead end more times than not. For these reasons, we highly discourage relying on a treasure map for any part of your bitcoin inheritance plan. Of course, you can still have a letter of instruction, but it should not be a featured piece of your estate plan. At a later date, we'll discuss what should be the features of your bitcoin inheritance plan. In the meantime, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. It will help you understand the steps of probate before you further complicate it with Bitcoin. Request your free consultation  

I do serve as a professional trustee, not just executor, or our Solo Ager clients. We'll cover why our Solo Ager clients are looking for a professional trustee, why they don't use banks, and how much it costs to hire a professional trustee. Disputes between trustee and beneficiary Why are our Solo Ager clients looking for a professional trustee? The main reason is because of potential disputes between the trustee and the beneficiaries. Unfortunately, this kind of conflict is very common, even more so than between heirs and executors. A trust creates a much longer relationship: an estate lasts a year, worst case 2-3 years. Even with tax issues and selling the estate assets, there is at least a finite relationship where the heirs can see the finish line. The heirs and executor can probably learn to put up with each other, because they know that there is an end in sight. Whereas, a trust can last decades. It usually deals with the duration of someone's life. A trustee usually has to make more discretionary decisions than an executor. Often, trusts are written so that the trustee can decide how and when to distribute money to a beneficiary. For example, a trustee can make a “distribution for the health and education or comfort” of the beneficiary. This can get very awkward if heirs and trustee all know each other (siblings, friends, cousins, etc.), and the heirs have to prove to the trustee why they need the money. The heirs may not want to disclose certain health or financial issues to a trustee who is close with them. Even discussing the heirs' standard of living means that the trustee will know what the heirs spend their money on. There could be a lot of details that you wouldn't share with your family or friends otherwise. This is why having a professional trustee could make the situation easier. With an estate, the heirs are the people named in the will or the intestate heirs named by law if there is no will. A trust has multiple layers of beneficiaries. There are beneficiaries of the income of the trust and also beneficiaries who receive whatever is left when the trust maker dies. Those are very different incentives: the income beneficiaries want as much income generated and paid out to them as possible, whereas the beneficiaries at the end do not want the trust money to be spent or distributed so that they can still receive some. This can be a difficult balance even for professional trustees, so imagine how dicey it would be for a trustee who has a relationship with the heirs. Naming a bank as trustee Why not name a bank, trust company or other fiduciary company as trustee? Some of our Solo Agers have shared their experiences with us, and they tell us it often doesn't work well because of minimums or bureaucracy. Many of these institutions have minimum trust size requirements to qualify, or else they will just reject you. Surprisingly, these minimums can be quite high, because they only want to deal with people who have a lot of money. Even if your trust meets the minimum right now, make sure you have a sufficient amount to qualify by the time you actually need the bank to act as your trustee. For example, the bank's minimum requirements might increase at a rate that outpaces the growth of your trust assets. If that happens, your trust may no longer be eligible and your trust won't have a trustee anymore. Another example is when you need to use the trust money during your lifetime to pay the income beneficiaries or medical bills. Taking too much money out of the trust could also disqualify you from using the bank as your trustee. What about the bureaucracy? We've heard from many folks that it is a frustrating and lengthy process just to get approved by the bank. This doesn't necessarily relate to the minimum requirement; it just takes so long to get your application approved. You'd think it would be the other way around: a person entrusting an institution with their life savings should be vetting the banks! It feels more like asking the bank for a loan rather than asking them to be your fiduciary. On top of that, there is no guarantee you will talk to the same person each time. Whereas with a professional trustee, you know exactly who you hired. For these two reasons, many clients have reported that they just gave up trying to deal with the financial institutions. How much does it cost to hire a trustee? In most cases, there is no cost now, because most trusts are usually revocable or a testamentary trust. So, you won't need a professional trustee until you pass away. Since no one is doing the job now, there is no cost now. Once a trustee is needed, the cost for a professional trustee is the same as an amateur. Just as with an executor, the trustee fees are set by state law. If it costs the same to use a professional trustee as it does an amateur, it's a no-brainer to choose the experienced professional! It's a fair assumption to assume it costs more to hire a professional trustee, but fortunately, that is not the case. Thank you to our listeners who've submitted questions like this. It helps our Solo Agers to know that they're in good company. If you have not done so already, click the link below to receive a free E-copy of my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.” Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”  

This happens when the buyer agrees to a higher contract price, but the seller also agrees to credit back a set amount to the buyer, so the net purchase price is lower. For example, if the buyer wants the house for $250,000, they would set the contract price at $300,000 with a side agreement that the seller would credit $50,000 on the closing statement, effectively making the price $250,000. Why not just a price reduction? Co-ops (and sometimes condos and homeowners' associations) want the closing price to be (artificially) higher to maintain their average price per square foot. They don't want records to show that a unit sold for significantly less than other units, because, in theory, it will eventually drag down the value of the building. Even though a lower price is reasonable for a probate property that needs major renovations, it doesn't benefit the co-op. Sometimes cash buyers and investors want the recorded price to be higher, so they can show flip buyers a slimmer profit margin. For example, an investor pays $250,000, hoping to flip it for $350,000. When the investor goes to sell the property, the buyer can check the public records to see what the investor paid. It will show that the investor is trying to make a $100,000 gain. If the records show that the investor paid closer to $350,000, it won't look like he's making a large profit. What can a seller credit be used for? Non-professional executors and heirs are sometimes worried that the situation seems sketchy. They wonder if they are really allowed to give a seller's credit. No worries; it is legitimate and fairly common. In non-probate situations, it is most often used as an incentive to the buyer to cover some repairs or pay for closing costs. Sometimes repairs need to be done for the property to be sellable. It's a way of putting the repairs on the buyer instead, when the estate is cash-poor or the executor just doesn't have time. Usually cash buyers only A seller's credit is mostly used for cash buyers for a few reasons. There are often small credits for something like a broken stove. But sometimes there are legal issues with the property or major renovations are needed. If the credit is a large amount, greater than 10% of sale price, it makes the closing figures look non-traditional. Banks don't handle that situation well, so a seller's credit is usually not a good option for a buyer who needs to take out a loan. Selling a probate property has many nuances; it's not the same as a regular house sale. You may have sold your home once or twice and figure that selling probate real estate is easy. The reality is that probate real estate can be very different. To learn more about what to expect during probate, check out my book, “How Probate Works, “ available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

We've talked before about why Solo Ager estate plans must be frictionless. Same goes for a bitcoin inheritance plan, even more so. The best inheritance plan is the one that actually exists In general, 60 to 70% of people have no will or estate plan at all. Why don't they have an estate plan? 44% is due to procrastination - “I have time; I'll get to it later.” 25% of people are not sure where to start. 13% say that it is too expensive to create an estate plan. In the New York City area, the cost to set up an estate plan with an attorney ranges from $1,500 to $4,000. Especially if you don't have the liquid funds available, it's an understandable hesitation. Making an inheritance plan is a series of tough decisions We only have a limited amount of brain power for decision-making per day! Creating an inheritance plan uses a lot of that decision-making fuel. For example, do you start with a lawyer or do it yourself? If you choose a lawyer, do you know a good lawyer? Now you're spending time and energy asking for referrals and setting up consultations. If you choose to make the plan yourself, what software will you use? Once you decide on hiring an attorney vs. a DIY plan, do you want a will or do you want a will and a trust? There are many legal decisions to make as you develop your plan. Next, who will inherit your estate? With a nuclear family, this will probably be straightforward. But, perhaps you want to add charities, friends, etc. You will need to decide what amount to give to each beneficiary. Who will be your executor or trustee? If you have minor children, who will be their guardians? These are just the major things you have to think about when planning your estate. Once you make it through one decision, you have to move on to the next. It's easy to see why so many people put off making an estate plan. Bitcoin custody adds more decisions to your inheritance plan How will you hold your Bitcoin while you are alive to make it easier to transfer upon your death? How (technically) will that custody transfer to your executor when you die? There are technical logistics that you don't have to worry about with legacy assets. Will transfer actually work? From my conversations with various bitcoiners, many seem a bit overconfident that their bitcoin inheritance plan will work seamlessly. In our experience, even common assets, like stocks and bank accounts, have problems transferring easily, let alone something like bitcoin, where your heirs are probably very unfamiliar. Have you compromised your existing security too much to make your plan happen when you die (meaning, is it a bit too easy to make a transaction while you're alive)? On the flip side, have you compromised your existing convenience too much to make your plan as secure as possible (meaning, is it a pain to make a simple transaction now)? Who in your life understands bitcoin custody, probate, and taxes well enough to be your executor? Chances are that you don't know someone knowledgeable in all of those areas. This is where we can help as professional executors. Most importantly, remember, the best inheritance plan is one that actually exists. You have to have something, or else you have nothing! To learn more about probate, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. It doesn't address bitcoin specifically, but it can help you understand what's involved in administering an estate. Hopefully soon, I will complete my bitcoin inheritance book! Request your free consultation  

Folks who are interested in naming me as their professional executor ask how much it costs to get started. There is no cost! We'll explain why, what you get, and what to expect. It's just a nomination At this point, you are healthy and just being responsible by making your estate plan. When you name me as trustee in your trust or as executor in your will, it's just a nomination; I haven't done any work yet. Besides, you can always change your will and I may never become your executor or trustee, depending how you make your plan. Not your estate planning lawyer To be clear, I'm not your estate planning lawyer. I've done estate plans before, and I am very familiar with what needs to be done. Nowadays, I've narrowed down my expertise and I am focused on being the best possible executor or trustee after folks have passed. Some people ask if I can draft their wills or trusts anyway, and the answer is unfortunately no. I no longer have the software, fancy paper, etc. to do wills. Consider it a good thing that I don't split my time between preparing wills and acting as a professional executor. It means that I am dedicated to providing the best service as your executor. Also, as an experienced executor, I know how things will happen at the end. When reading a will, I can foresee what issues will arise because of the way it is written. When you nominate me as your executor, I am happy to take a look at your will as a second set of eyes. Again, this review would be non-legal advice, because I am not your estate planning attorney. But, I will be the one to carry out your wishes. When reviewing your estate plan, I look for any red flags that may make my job harder as your executor. As a side note, we don't usually find many red flags, because many people work with competent estate planning attorneys. Complimentary check-ins As we've discussed before, we offer complimentary annual check-ins. We do this to make sure I'm alive and you're alive! It's also useful to get to know each other over the years. You want an executor who is familiar with you and your wishes, based on more than just one meeting or phone call. As we talk, I might discover that you've grown distant from certain relatives or perhaps you made a new best friend later in life. These things could be useful when carrying out your will or even defending your estate plan. Since I am not doing any work for your estate yet, we keep the calls brief. Sometimes it's just an email. But it's a good reminder for you to think about your plan at least once a year. This is a common question that we get, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments. To learn more about what I do as a professional executor, check out my book, “How to Hire a Professional Executor,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation    

Barring a terminal illness or physician-assisted death, it's very hard to know when you will die. The world changes very quickly, and you do not know what the world will be like at the time of your death. For example, there were no iPhones two decades ago, and now look how technology has evolved. So, to future-proof your plan, you must keep it as flexible as possible. Inheritance plan vs actual circumstances In general, your estate plan will be different from the actual circumstances upon your passing. For example: Your beneficiaries and your executor may be very old or may not be alive. Or, your relationships with them may have changed. Your beneficiary is wealthier than you anticipated and you may not want to leave as much money to them anymore. Your assets have changed. Say you plan to give your nephew 10% of your bitcoin. But, when you pass, your bitcoin is worth way more than you ever imagined. Now that 10% is a pretty hefty chunk of change, and you didn't intend to leave your nephew quite that much. Most people do not have an estate plan at all, and even the ones who have a will or a trust don't update them. Supposedly, 70% of plans are not up to date and 20% of them haven't been updated in 5 years or more. That's a lot of people with ex-girlfriends still named as beneficiaries in their estate plan... But, let's be realistic: if we didn't do estates for a living, we'd probably forget, too! No matter how much you plan for your death, there is a general chaos surrounding the probate process. You don't know who will be alive, who will cause drama, or who will sue the estate because they are upset about how you wrote your will. People think that their heirs and beneficiaries will be cordial, but when money is involved, you never know. Bitcoin evolves quickly Bitcoin is a young asset, and it is still in a very fast evolutionary stage. Bitcoin has gone from your wallet being only available on your own node (if you run core software), to paper wallets where you write or print out your code/seed phrase/key, to HDD, to multisig wallets. And that's just wallets! Now you have second and third layers from Lightning and Arc coming on. There are more people with their own nodes now. Who knows what's next? Will you update with each evolution? Unlikely. So, your plan needs to be able to adapt to the circumstances surrounding your death. Even our Bitcoin podcasts have evolved over the past few years! When to automate? One of the main points in using Bitcoin is to eliminate trusted third-parties and middlemen. In general, automation is best suited for predictable and repeating tasks such as regular billing, social media posts, or other high volume tasks. But there are certain circumstances where it's not wise to use automation. Using automation is a poor choice when the task requires decision-making; it's the opposite of predictable and repeating. You do not want to automate your estate plan. As we discussed above, you do not know what the world or your family tree will be like upon your passing. In traditional, legacy estate plans, beneficiary designations don't work very well. It is a form of automation to say, “Upon my death, everything will go to this person.” Avoiding legal fees and probate sounds great, but you are assuming that your plan will be up to date. You're assuming that the amount in the bank account at the time of your death is the amount you want that beneficiary to get. More often than not, this scenario doesn't shake out the way you hoped. A custodial Bitcoin solution means naming a beneficiary on your Kraken or Binance account. But when automating a non-custodial Bitcoin inheritance plans (like a time-lock, letter of instruction, sharding, etc.), you have frozen in time an inflexible solution for a situation that requires great flexibility. For probate in general, as well as Bitcoin, it is more important to rely on a human executor who can assess the situation and make the appropriate decisions. In probate, the executor may have to deal with a bureaucrat or a government employee who is asking them to do something ridiculous to get the information needed for the estate. You need a human being who can perceive that the instructions are strange and find a way to get the job done. That's the difference from being stuck in a non-flexible system that doesn't have decision making capabilities. In conclusion, your Bitcoin inheritance plan needs to be as flexible as possible to adapt to the evolution of Bitcoin and our ever-changing world. To learn more about probate, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. It doesn't address Bitcoin specifically, but it can help you understand what's involved in administering an estate. Hopefully soon, I will complete my Bitcoin inheritance book! Request your free consultation  

Physician-Assisted Dying has other names that might be familiar: death with dignity, aid in dying, assisted death, euthanasia, and assisted suicide Since we've received many inquiries from our Solo Agers, here some of your FAQs: Making arrangements from Switzerland Can my professional executor help make arrangements from Switzerland after I pass? Switzerland is often the go-to jurisdiction, but there may be others in the U.S. The medical facilities need to know who to notify upon death, and we have filled the role as the entity to be notified. You also need to make arrangements to send final personal effects (phone, wallet) after your passing. Again, we have been in that role before, and we have coordinated the receipt of the personal belongings. Live your last days to the fullest If you are scheduling a physician-assisted death, you have to weigh the balance between preparing and living your life to the fullest. We get calls from Solo Agers who are very focused on preparing and tying up any loose ends (cleaning out and selling their home). Our advice is to go ahead and take care of the low-stress items but leave the rest to us. It is our job to figure things out upon your passing, and it's very unlikely that you will think of everything that needs to be done anyway. There is a limit to how much you will be able to help us, no matter how hard you try. Most folks have not gone through probate enough to know what needs to be done, so it's better to let us handle it. Most people pass away unexpectedly and most things are generally unorganized anyway. Instead, do your best to enjoy your remaining time and complete that bucket list! To disclose or not to disclose Do I need to tell my executor that I plan to have a physician-assisted death? It's totally up to you; we've dealt with both. Telling us helps us be ready on the scheduled date. But if you prefer your privacy, it's no problem; we've done that too. Most deaths are unexpected, so we are used to it. Perhaps your loved ones don't know that your death was planned. As professional executors, we know how to handle the situation tactfully. Click the link below to check out my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.” This topic is not covered specifically in my book, but it will help you learn more about probate in general. Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”  

Should you look for a broker or lawyer first when selling a probate property? With non-probate home sales, brokers are the first to list, set an open house, and find a great buyer. Lawyers only get involved once a buyer is in place and a deal is struck. The lawyer then drafts the contract and conducts the closing. But with probate, talking to a lawyer first makes more sense. Here's why: Talk to a probate lawyer first when selling a home It's important to talk with a probate lawyer, because you need to know who has the authority to sell the home. The lawyer can also tell you whether the estate needs to be probated. Not every estate needs probate: maybe the house is titled a certain way or it is held in a trust. Or, maybe you live in an area where the title company accepts “heirs at law” affidavits. These situations are best analyzed by a probate attorney. How long will it take to get started? How much will it cost? The answers to these questions will determine what type of broker you will work with. A probate attorney will walk you through the estate debts, taxes, etc. You may not want to go through the hassle of selling the probate property if there is only a small fraction of the estate left over after debts and taxes. There are some pre-steps that a probate lawyer (or a good broker) can help with: Hiring a title company to confirm who owns the property and check for major judgements or liens. Talking to co-op management and HOAs to see if there are any red flags. When to speak with a broker first to sell probate property Brokers are good at figuring out how much you can reasonably expect to sell the house for. Is there enough value to deal with the mess? A downside of talking to a broker first is that too often, they are eager to get a new deal but they don't understand the estate situation. The broker may not realize that the person they are speaking with does not have the legal authority to hire them. At that point, you've wasted your time and the broker's time if you do not have the legal authority to sign a listing agreement, etc. Sometimes selling probate property does not require a broker. You can avoid the broker's commission if you sell the home to an heir, a neighbor, or a cash investor. A probate lawyer can advise on this, so it will probably save money to meet with a lawyer first. We see this happen a lot, so we want to share our tips with anyone who is looking to sell probate property. Meet with a probate lawyer first so that you can get proper guidance. To learn more about probate, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

How much does a professional executor cost? Most people are surprised to learn that executor fees are the same whether you choose an experienced professional or your unemployed nephew who has lots of spare time. When people realize that they are paying the same cost, they will probably choose a professional executor. In fact, your estate will probably even save on expenses with a professional vs.an amateur. Executor fees set by state law Executor fees are almost always set by state law, whether it is a percentage of the estate or a reasonable fee. The percentage often works out to 2-3% of the estate's value, which is less than half of a broker's commission in most states. Some states use the “reasonable fee” standard, and the court accepts a customary percentage as “reasonable.” Sometimes the reasonable fee is an hourly rate that the court deems acceptable. If you have an amateur executor, the hourly rate can get pretty expensive. If the executor doesn't know much about probate, it will take him longer to accomplish tasks than a professional executor. Sometimes amateur family/friend executors attract more drama. The heirs are more likely to contest the fees, and the executor may not get paid at all. Professional executor save time and expenses As with anything else, a person who has done something hundreds of times is probably better at it than someone who has never tried. A professional executor is experienced, efficient, and has the right contacts. A professional executor knows the person to speak with at the bank rather than talking to 17 different banks. He knows which court clerk is the surly one and which one will push your paperwork through. He also knows which vendors have the best value for the cost (cleaning crews, painters, contractors, accountants, etc.). A professional executor also knows which services are not necessary. For example, staging an apartment for sale is expensive, but usually not necessary. We've seen staging bills as high as $20,000! As an heir, I'd be upset that my inheritance went to pay for something like that. Some contractors pitch pretty extensive renovations, like a marble countertop. Because it's not their money or their house, some executors go into HGTV-mode.  There is no need to knock out the walls; we just need to clean the home and make it look like it hasn't been lived in for 40 years. There are circumstances where it's beneficial to stage and renovate a home, but not for estates. The longer a probate property sits around, the more it will cost the estate. How much do banks charge to be executors? Banks are the exception; they will sometimes ask for special language in the will or trust opting out of state law and getting higher fees with higher minimums. A large entity, like a bank, doesn't want to be bothered with small estates and small fees. On top of that, most banks won't agree to be your executor unless you have a decent amount of liquid money invested in their bank. We made a recent call to a bank who refused to act as executor for a $2.5 million estate. Even if you have enough money to qualify, you still need to wait for their risk analysts and committees to accept. It is a long process…IF they even accept. you. As you can see, it's more cost-efficient to hire a professional executor than to choose your unemployed nephew. So if you don't want to burden a relative or friend with the task, please check out my book, “How to Hire a Professional Executor,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation    

A deadman's switch is a seemingly elegant and trustless solution for bitcoin inheritance. But if you think it through, it currently has too many problems to work securely. A deadman's switch is a protocol or mechanism where, if the creator misses a periodic check-in (ex. push a button every 3 months, reply to a monthly email, etc.), it's assumed the creator has died and will trigger an event. Types of bitcoin dead man switches With the first type of deadman's, upon failure to press the button, a pre-loaded transaction executes. Imagine that you set up your E*Trade account to sell a certain number of shares for a certain amount. Similarly, everything is “loaded up” in your bitcoin deadman's switch, and the pre-loaded transaction automatically executes if the check-in is missed. What happens if you miss the check-in not because you are dead, but because you forgot? It all depends how you set up your plan. So it would be wise to have multiple check-ins required before the event is triggered. With another type of bitcoin deadman's switch, upon failure to press the button, a secret gets delivered. The secret may be your seed phrase or pass phrase, and gets delivered by email, telegram, or phone call or sms text. to your heir or executor. Problems with a deadman's switch that executes a bitcoin transaction First, this creates a beneficiary problem. Even in non-bitcoin scenarios, people name beneficiaries on their accounts in order to bypass probate and distribute the account directly to the beneficiary without any supervision. The problem with naming beneficiaries on your life insurance, IRA, etc. is that people often forget who their beneficiaries are and they forget to update their beneficiary designations. Maybe they named an ex-girlfriend or a since-disowned relative. Bitcoin is also ever-changing and could be worth way more or less at the time of your death. You won't know for sure how much your beneficiary will receive from this pre-loaded transaction. That's a hard thing to try to keep up to date. If you forget about this pre-loaded transaction and it's not up to date, it probably conflicts with the rest of your estate plan. Say your plan was for Alice, Bob, and Charlie to each get a third of your wealth. You figure that your stocks are worth about 1/3, your bitcoin is about 1/3, and your house is about 1/3. It seems clever enough to leave one of those to each of the beneficiaries, right? What happens if the assets fluctuate wildly in value in the remaining years until your death? Now your heirs won't receive equal shares of your wealth like you intended. Another problem is that your bitcoin is stuck in the UTXO, which is a problem for creating pre-loaded transactions. You can't move the UTXO without setting up a new deadman's switch. It's like having a bank account that can only have a beneficiary designation as long as you never withdraw or deposit into that account. You can never move the account to another bank. This only makes sense for the portion of your bitcoin that you plan to keep in deep cold storage. It's like a treasure chest that you bury. The last problem with this plan is that the transaction must execute to an heir's wallet. What if your heir doesn't have a bitcoin wallet? Even if you set up a wallet for them, will they know how to use it? Do they know how to secure their seed phrase? You can set up a custody wallet on an exchange like Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini. But most bitcoiners with self-custody don't want their bitcoin going into a third-party wallet for their heirs. Problems with a deadman switch that delivers a bitcoin secret This plan has horrible operational security. You must write the secret (seed phrase, pass phrase, PIN) on a hot (online) computer. You must be able to trust the service's servers, encryption, etc. And remember that the secret will be delivered via email, telegram, phone call, or sms text. This plan does everything you're told not to do with self-custody operational security. You could instead use a multisig or shard your seed and give pieces to different people. But if you use those solutions, then you don't even need a deadman's switch. Why add another layer of complexity to a complex situation? A deadman's switch seems attractive, because you don't have to trust anyone. But if you walk mentally through the scenario, you can see that using a deadman's switch isn't a great solution. Probate is a complicated process and adding bitcoin to the mix brings a whole new level of complexity. To learn more, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

Our Solo Agers friends often ask this when they're ready to name me executor in their will. We support well-done DIY wills and anything that helps make your plan as frictionless as possible. Some kind of plan is almost always better than no plan! So, do you need a lawyer to make a will? No, we're not aware of any state that requires a lawyer to make your will. We do nonetheless recommend that our Solo Agers at least hire a lawyer to supervise the signing. Here's why: Signing ceremony technicalities A signing ceremony sounds like a long, drawn-out event, but it could last as little as 15 minutes. Still, there are many technicalities to follow, or else the will may be invalid. Just a few examples, the person making the will (the testator) has to make a proper declaration in the will. The pages of the will must also be stapled together, or else there is a potential for page-swapping. Lastly, to demonstrate that the testator is competent to sign a will, lawyers often chit-chat about current events with the testator. If testimony is ever needed to prove that the testator is competent, then the witnesses can refer back to that conversation. If any of the technicalities go wrong, then the will may be invalid. Yes, DIY services provide detailed instructions for drafting your will, but most people don't follow instructions to a T (or even read the instructions). It's easy to miss a step and invalidate the whole will. It's much easier to get an experienced attorney to supervise the signing. It's also cheaper than hiring an attorney to draft your entire estate plan. Lawyer-supervised presumptions In many states, the probate court will give the benefit of the doubt if the signing was supervised by a lawyer. For example, the court is more likely to accept a self-proving affidavit signed by your witnesses, instead of requiring the witnesses to appear in court to testify. Suppose you die 15 years later...tracking down the witnesses, getting them to agree to come to court, and having them accurately recollect your signing ceremony would be very hard. There is no guarantee that they will remember that day or even still be alive. Without the lawyer supervision and the self-proving affidavit, it may be harder for your executor to probate your estate. Best will witnesses DIY wills often use subpar witnesses. It's natural to want to ask family and friends to witness, because they are close to you. Using a witness who is named in the will or who could potentially inherit your estate creates a conflict of interest. Their testimony as a witness won't hold up well in court because they have beneficial interest. But, it's also not the best idea to grab a passer-by as a witness (UPS delivery person, doorman, bank teller). If you don't even know the witness, chances are it will be hard for your heirs to find them if ever needed. Sometimes the address they provide is the physical address where they signed! For these reasons, lawyers will provide their own experienced witnesses (paralegals, other staff, the lawyer's spouse, etc.). These people have witnessed wills many times before and can give good testimony if needed. If you decide to do your own will, at least have the signing supervised by an experienced attorney. For more answers to your estate planning questions, click the link below to receive your free electronic copy of my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.” Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”  

Why do heirs suddenly need to sell probate real estate? We see cases where years, even generations, have elapsed since the real estate owner has died, and nothing has been done. So why, all of a sudden, do the heirs seek a lawyer or professional executor? Here are the top 5 reasons we've seen. 1. Bad economies mean heirs need money When there's a recession, our office gets busier. It seems that when times are tough, people want large, lump sums of cash (rather than a theoretical portion of an estate). It's a bit counter-intuitive, since real estate prices are often down at these times and heirs would have to sell low. The heirs figure that even though the sale price is lower than in a strong economy, at least they'll get some cash. 2. More deaths means more complications As more and more family members pass, heirs see how increasingly complicated probate will be. For example, mom died and left the house and 4 kids who all get along. The 4 kids don't probate, but agree amongst themselves who will perform upkeep, who will collect rent, and how the rent will be divided. But then the kid in charge of upkeep dies and now no one is officially in charge of upkeep. Then the one in charge of making sure there is a tenant also dies, so his kids move in. Now there is tension among the family members who don't all agree with the arrangement. You may not think your family will have these problems, but when money is involved, it can get messy. Once the original heirs start passing and those who were not part of the initial arrangement get involved, problems can snowball quickly. At this point, it is just easier to sell the real estate before it gets more complicated. 3. Tenant problems For example, grandma owned a rental property and for years after grandma's death, tenants paid like clockwork. But for whatever reason the tenants stop paying. It happens all the time. It's easy to stop paying rent and stay in the house when no one is enforcing payments. The heirs will find that they can't take legal action until they start probate and get a court-appointed executor. Sometimes the tenants learn that no one is legally in charge yet, and that's why they stop paying. It could be at least a year before an executor is appointed by the court. So, there's at least a year rent-free. As a side note, often these non-paying tenants are also heirs. Oh, the humanity! 4. Creditor, co-op demands, no longer self-sustaining Sometimes heirs miss or ignore bills, then the creditors eventually get active. Just imagine an heir being diligent about paying all of the bills, but totally forgot about the water bill. Rather than the company shutting off the water, there is a giant outstanding bill after a decade. Sometimes an estate debt is so large that there is no choice but to sell the real estate. Or sometimes a co-op board looks the other way for a while, but now wants things done correctly and the estate needs to be probated. Maybe the rent used to be enough to cover all bills, but as time elapsed it's not quite enough anymore. Maybe you didn't raise the rent enough, or inflation caused your expenses to skyrocket. Now you have real estate that is generating a loss. 5. Property damage or disrepair A major storm may cause costly damage. Other problems that tend to emerge when the property is not owner-occupied could be mold, old/leaky roof, or floor/foundation problems. Maybe none of the heirs have the funds to fix these major problems to bring the home up to rentable status. If there are no other funds and the heirs don't want to deal with it, then maybe it's time to sell. Probate Book These are the most common reasons we've seen for heirs to sell real estate quickly. Two good books on the subject are, “How Probate Works” and “How to Hire an Executor,” both available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

When we chat with new clients, we ask them why they chose to look for and hire a professional executor. Here are the 5 most common answers. Perhaps you will see yourself in one of these situations. 1.  There's no one else There may not be any close family or friends due to old age or because the client is a Solo Ager. Or maybe a client does have close family and friends, but they do not live nearby, they have no time, or they are not financially savvy. 2. Went through being an executor and hated it We have clients who served as executors and hated it. Because they hated being an executor, there is no way they want to burden a loved one with the task. It could be the other way around: the friend or family member who they want to nominate was already an executor once and hated it, too. 3. Fees are the same, so you may as well get a professional Once clients realize that the executor fee is exactly the same for a professional executor versus a family member or friend, they can't believe it! In most states, the law is the same. Whether it's your unemployed nephew who needs money to start a rock band versus a seasoned professional with an experienced staff versus a bank: If you have that choice and the fees are going to be the same, why wouldn't you name a professional executor? In fact, hiring a professional executor may even cost less. An experienced and professional staff can reduce costs due to economies of scale, better deals with vendors, etc. We minimize a lot of losses because we can often do things quicker. 4. Banks won't take the client or charge fees or require certain investments Many come to us after being rejected by their bank/brokerage, even if they have plenty of money and have been loyal customers for years. Or sometimes, they are in the process of getting the bank to agree to serve as executor. But there are so many layers of committees and approvals from the bank. Those people come to us because we provide a more personal experience. With a bank, you'll never talk to the person who will be the executor; it's just “the bank.” Lastly, people don't like the bank's requirement that a certain amount of money must be invested with them to qualify. You probably need between $3 million and $5 million just to talk to the bank. The bank also requires very specific investments: your money has to be invested in Brokerage Account “A” and the underlying investments must be in the Brokerage's created funds. To put it bluntly, this is how banks can charge more fees. 5. Age gap siblings This is similar to our #1 reason above, but more often we are seeing age gap siblings. Since we've been seeing this specific situation more often, we thought it was worth mentioning as its own reason. For whatever family reason, we're seeing clients whose next closest sibling is 25 years older or younger! They don't have a tight relationship due to the large age gap. On the other hand, we have clients whose siblings are almost the same age, which doesn't give an elderly client much hope that a fellow elderly sibling will be able to fulfill the duties of an executor. You want someone who will survive you or be young enough to handle stressful situations. These are all great reasons to check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. If you are part of our monthly email list, we give away one free paperback copy a month! Request your free consultation    

Multisig or a passphrase ("poor man's multisig") are two ways to transfer custody to your bitcoin executor upon your death. Let's compare, so you can decide which best fits your bitcoin inheritance plan. Why multisig for bitcoin inheritance? The main feature is splitting access to your bitcoin, so that it's not catastrophic if just one of your keys is revealed, leaked, or hacked. While you should always be careful of how you manage your security materials, using a multisig allows you to be a little less uptight with your security practices. By contrast, if all of your stash is in a singlesig wallet, then access to that one key could cost you all of your bitcoin. If one key is lost, you lose it all. If one key is hacked, it's all stolen. Also, this is not necessarily what's best for estate administration (which can last years), but rather the immediate transfer of custody to your executor. So this is not about how your executor will hold your keys during his tenure as your executor. This analysis is specifically regarding the pros and cons of how smooth the transfer will be from you to your executor upon death. Lastly, the general pros and cons of multisig vs. singlesig with a passphrase (multi vs. single vendor risk, costs of multiple hardware wallets, ease of setup, etc.) are beyond the scope of this analysis.  For the purpose of this discussion, we are just looking at the pros and cons of transfer to your executor upon your passing. Leaving a passphrase for your bitcoin executor First, we'll look at using a passphrase as a poor man's multisig for your non-bitcoin executor. Your seed phrase and your additional passphrase combine as an imperfect 2-of-2 multisig of sorts. A passphrase would be easier for a non-bitcoin executor, in theory, because it feels more like just a second password. By contrast, multisig can be more intimidating: and feel like those movies with a nuclear submarine where the captain and the first mate must each put a key in and turn on the count of three... If you or your executor lose your passphrase, there's at least theoretical hope to recover it with enough computing power (depending on length and complexity of the passphrase). People are not too great about choosing phrases randomly, and often use short passphrases that are easier to remember. A lost 12- 24-word seed phrase could not be recovered for the foreseeable future. You could also hide your passphrase in plain sight, so that it's easier to transfer to your executor. For example, writing a letter to your executor, where every fifth word comprises your passphrase. My understanding is this is poor opsec with a 12- or 24-word seed phrase, because seed phrase words are a finite set, and hackers have algorithms to scan text for seed phrase words. But be aware: passphrases are not really designed for this, and there's not much support for its use as a poor man's multisig. A non-professional executor may have trouble finding information online about passphrases as a 2-of-2 multisig. Whereas there are companies that, for a consultation fee, will take the time to walk the executor through the multisig process. How your bitcoin executor will handle your multisig With a 2-of-3 multsig, there are three independent keys (seed phrases and/or hardware devices), and you need two of them to access the bitcoin and make a transaction. Multisg has more leeway for error: even if you lose one key, you still have two and can recover. This provides a margin for error in terms of catastrophic loss. With a passphrase (or any 2-of-2) set up, there are only two "keys", so if you lose either one, you can't access your bitcoin. A second benefit of multisig is that each key is strong and offers full protection because each key is a 12- or 24-word seed phrase, created with the fully researched cryptography security. Whereas you create your own passphrase, and we're all pretty bad at being sufficiently random (admit it, we use our kid's name, anniversary, favorite movie quote, etc. as passwords). Lastly, multisig has lower “smudge risk” than a passphrase.  Since 12- or 24-seed phrase words comes from a finite set of possible vocabulary words, if just of the handwritten seed words and smudgy, there is still good a chance of figuring out the word. But since your passphrase can be any word, in any language, or even gibberish, guessing a smudged word would be complete guessing. The focus here is how your executor will solve the puzzle after your death so your bitcoin isn't lost. For further reading on what executors deal with in general, check out my book on Amazon, “How Probate Works.” Request your free consultation    

A frictionless first estate plan is a great first step for Solo Agers with no plan at all. It helps Solo Agers clarify their thinking and decisions, all while having a basic plan in place in the meantime. Why Solo Agers need a frictionless first plan We've heard from many folks who are stressed because they have no plan whatsoever. In general, Solo Agers don't have the traditional heirs and family members available to fill the executor role, so it is important to have something in place. The reason why many Solo Agers don't have a plan is often because of analysis paralysis. While estate planning is a series of decisions, some people get stuck analyzing every detail. Of course, there is also the fear of making the wrong decisions and the consequences that come from that. The biggest fear is choosing the wrong fiduciaries. Why a frictionless plan? A frictionless plan is a version of your estate plan that is as low-cost and as low-headache as possible. When your estate plan is low-cost, psychologically it is easier to make decisions, because you realize that it's not a big deal to make changes if needed. People feel more at ease when spending a few hundred dollars versus a few thousand dollars to create a plan and make changes when needed. Low-cost solutions allow you to easily reverse or change your plan and not feel like it is set in stone. With a low-cost solution, the fear of making changes won't prevent you from having any plan at all. Example of a frictionless solo ager estate plan Our plan for a frictionless Solo Ager estates includes three steps: First, make a do-it-yourself will using one of the software programs that we've reviewed. One that we are currently recommending is Free Will. For basic wills, it gets the job done. https://anthonyspark.com/e187-3-best-free-diy-will-software/ Second, name a professional executor. If you feel comfortable with us, name us for now. It doesn't have to be your final decision; you can change the executor any time.  https://anthonyspark.com/professional-executor/ Third, have an attorney-supervised signing. This is the biggest (low) cost involved. The reason we recommend an attorney-supervised signing is because there are a lot of technicalities to having a legally binding will signing. If you mess up even one or two parts, all of your hard work becomes moot. In the New York area, you can hire an attorney and their staff to witness the signing of your self-prepared will for $200 or $300 (compared to the thousands of dollars to hire an attorney to draft your estate plan). The cost of an attorney-supervised signing could be even lower outside of the New York area.  https://anthonyspark.com/e273-diy-will-vs-lawyers-for-solo-agers/ We hope that by outlining these low-cost options, you will be confident in creating a bare-bones plan as a safety-net to get you started. Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" To learn more about estate planning for Solo Agers, click the link below to get your free copy of my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.” Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

Let's discuss how, why, and how long it takes to get “fresh” Letters Testamentary in New York. Fresh letters simply means that they are newly dated. Most of the time, probate takes months or even years, and during that time, you may need to get fresh copies of the letters to use. Do letters of testamentary expire? One question we get is “do the letters of testamentary expire?” Technically, no, they don't expire. It's not as if your executorship has ended and you need to renew it. Rather, letters are a certificate proving you are still the executor. For example, if you walk into a bank with your letters that are over a year old and you want to close the account, the bank will very likely accept them. In the last year a lot could have happened – the court could have removed you as the executor, the letters could have been suspended, or there could have been other issues. They want letters that have been issued within the past 30 days (or in some cases 60 days) to prove that yes, you are still the executor, and all is good. How to renew letters testamentary In the past, getting newly updated letters was relatively easy. You could walk into the court with $6 and they would simply print the letters and you would walk out with them. You could even mail in a request and get them back within a reasonable timeframe. The exception would be if the court is missing items in the probate file, such as affidavits, inventories, etc. It is the court's leverage to make you fix any issues before they give you fresh letters. This doesn't mean the letters have been revoked; it's just the court's opportunity to get something they need in return for something you need. Fresh letters delays in New York in 2023 Now, getting quick letters are not happening. The court no longer allows you to visit the counter or walk in with your money and request. You have to upload a request for fresh letters online. Sounds easy, right? Here's the issue – the courts are at least three months behind processing online filings. So, for example, requests uploaded in December are finally being processed in March. This doesn't account for anything you may need to fix, which will add even more back and forth time.   If you have something important you need letters for (a real estate closing, for example), then you will need to plan well in advance for this. One option is to order letters right as the property is listed, possibly even before. You do run the risk of actually getting the letters quickly and them being outdated before the closing. In which case, you would need to order them again. You could get around this by ordering them every month or every other month until the closing to be sure that you have them. It may seem wasteful, but unfortunately, not having the letters could delay the closing (which is much more expensive than a few extra copies of letters). Probate isn't a quick process as it is, which is why it's best to set expectations early in the process. Check out my book, “How Probate Works,” and when you get to the chapter on delays, just add on more time. Unfortunately, that's the way things are right now. Request your free consultation  

As we've spoken about before, Anthony can be your professional executor, even if you don't live in New York. We have been seeing many inquires from out of state lately, and these are the top 5 looking for Anthony to be their professional executor. We are located in New York, so we are not including New York inquiries on this list. While this isn't a scientific study, this is what we are seeing based on our daily calls. Georgia First on the list, much to our surprise, is Georgia. Maybe because it is retirement friendly, which we have learned that it is. There is low sales tax, no inheritance tax, low income tax, real estate is “more bang for your buck” compared to other states, and it's warm and super friendly. Although it is retirement friendly, we aren't seeing that there is a large network of professional executors there. It works out for Anthony, since he spends most summers in Atlanta and is very familiar with Georgia. New Jersey This is less of a surprise, as it's right across the river. We've found that a lot of New Jersey folks seek out New York professionals, thinking they will get a “city caliber” professional. It doesn't matter where your executor lives, the fee is set by New Jersey state law. So, whether it's a professional executor or a non-professional such as your nephew, they will get paid exactly the same. So, you may as well get the most for your money. And for Anthony, he's in New Jersey often, so this is fairly easy for him. Texas Third on our list is Texas, and we don't really have an explanation for this one. Perhaps, like Georgia, maybe it's a good place for retirement. Again, while searching online, we are not many professional executors. But why Anthony? The only thing Anthony can think of is that in real life, he tends to get along well with Texans. Maybe the viewers and listeners sense that and want to work with him? After all, a professional executor is someone you will work together with, at least annually, so you should definitely have a good rapport. This state also works for Anthony, because he does travel to Texas often. California Fourth, and possibly the most surprising is California. It's far from New York and on paper, it doesn't seem like a good fit. California even as a fairly robust local professional fiduciary industry. They even have a certification and a trade association for professional executors. But for whatever reason (maybe the requirement of upfront fees by CA executors), clients want Anthony all the way in New York. Believe us, he is happy to serve in California – he loves it there! Florida Last, but not least is Florida, and this makes the most sense. It's a huge retirement state. However, for legal reasons, serving as a professional executor is problematic. Anthony can't actually not serve as a professional executor in Florida, because he doesn't live there. Only blood relatives may be out of state executors. But there are ways to deal with this. Anthony can be a nonresident Trustee for a Revocable Living Trust. Trusts are becoming very common in Florida to avoid probate. Clients who want to work with Anthony find this trustee workaround a great option. And again, he has no problem traveling to sunny, warm Florida, which he does often. If you want to find out what is required of an executor, I suggest reading Anthony's book, “How to Hire an Executor.” Request your free consultation  

As you may know, Bitcoin does not have layers like legacy and traditional accounts do, so an inheritance plan needs to be created. We will discuss the drawbacks of constantly seeking and getting stuck on a “perfect” Bitcoin inheritance plan, and a few solutions for approaching the creation of these layers. Legacy assets have inheritance layers, bitcoin does not Legacy assets (banks and financial institutions) already have several layers or contingencies that you may not even realize. On the testamentary side (deciding who gets what), there may be a will, a trust, beneficiaries on the account, or payable on death designations. If you don't have any of those, there are still default inheritance state laws called intestacy laws. Basically, even if you do nothing, there is a safety net of who gets what, and there are backup layers. You could name backup heirs, successor executors, etc., but even if you don't, the intestate laws will dictate inheritance. This is not the case for Bitcoin. The other side of inheritance is custody, since so many Bitcoiners self-custody. When you have Bitcoin assets on an exchange, you have a few failsafe layers. This includes password recovery. While you are living, you could contact the institution to gain access. When you pass, your heirs have a third-party custodian that they can turn to for assistance with accessing and liquidating. With self-custody, you don't have this naturally built in to turn to. Worst case, with traditional and legacy accounts, there is the process of unclaimed funds. This is where the assets go to the state after a certain amount of time if they are not accessed. This is in place, so the money doesn't simply disappear or get lost. Bitcoin does not have anything like this yet. Again, Bitcoin self-custody has few to none of these fail safes as of right now. “Perfect” bitcoin inheritance solutions Anthony has spoken with many Bitcoiners, and he keeps coming across the same problem – people are getting stuck waiting for the “perfect” inheritance solution. The plans, ideas, and visions for are different for each Bitcoiner, based on their level of security and knowledge. But for everyone it is important that you do not wait. While you're working on your perfect plan, put in a satisfactory solution for the time being. You need a safety net. If you worked really hard on your perfect inheritance solution and you believe it will work, great. But what if it doesn't? There are no layers or fail safes in plan with Bitcoin self-custody. So, it's up to you to create all of these layers, backups, safety nets, etc., so the funds aren't lost. How to make bitcoin inheritance layers Start with a layer that you're HIGHLY confident will work, even if you don't love it (for example, it relies on a third party, exposes your KYC, etc.). Once you have that in place then add layers that increase your comfort and increase complexity. But keep in mind, increased complexity may increase the risk of not working. Here is one example: First is the base layer and one way to do this is to create a poor man's multisig. If you have a single sig hardware wallet, you can give the seed phrase to your heirs and successor heirs (your wife and children perhaps), store a handwritten copy of your seed phrase in safe deposit box, and give your passphrase to bitcoin-savvy friend or professional bitcoin executor (executor and successor) named in your will. Again, you may not love this for privacy reasons, but you are fairly confident this would work. Now, with the base in place as your safety net, you can do whatever you want. You can teach your heirs in hopes they will understand self-custody enough to take custody on their own with a letter of instruction and treat it as a family bitcoin wallet. Again, remember you are not creating your perfect plan, you are creating your own safety net until you have your perfect plan. Check out my book, “How Probate Works,” to get an understanding of the probate process. Then add all the extra steps your executor and heirs will need to do to administer your bitcoin. As always, please reach out with your questions and feedback! Request your free consultation    

We get this question quite often – can you sell your inherited property? The answer to this depends on many factors. First, you need to figure out if you can sell an inherited property. Here are a few steps for you to take to answer this, before you can decide if you need a probate lawyer or professional executor. Check the deed to confirm you inherit First, check the deed to see if the decedent actually owned the property. Some people stay in a home long after another relative has passed or they are long-term renters. It's actually easy these days to get a copy of deed online. One example is ACRIS here in New York. Most other states and counties are similar. One note – it is a bit harder to obtain documents for co-ops (co-ops always worse during the probate process). You would need to call the management company for the information, which is sometimes like pulling teeth. They will need to check their internal records for the owner, and they may not provide you with the information. Once you have the deed, you want to clarify the owner. Is it the decedent? Was it in a trust? Is it in some other relative's name? Let's say it's your uncle who passed, but he actually moved into the house after your grandfather passed years before. It could likely still be in your grandfather's name. That would add a few layers of complexity to ownership. Deeds can also have joint owners, and co-ops can have beneficiaries. If there is a joint owner or beneficiary, and it's not you, then you don't own it. What happens to a mortgage when house is inherited? The next step is to see if there is a mortgage. When someone passes, the mortgage has to be paid off. So, it's important to find out if there is a mortgage and how much it is. It doesn't mean the heir is immediately on the hook for the mortgage payments, but it does need to be settled before the house is sold. If the mortgage amount balance is really large or underwater, it will definitely affect how you approach the estate. If the estate is close to or completely insolvent it makes the estate very cash poor, which changes how the estate is administered. Checking for a mortgage is similar to checking for a deed. Except for co-ops, mortgage information may be found online, on the statements that come in the mail, tax assessment offices, or on tax returns. In addition to searching for mortgages, you also want to look for potential larger debts. If there are tax debts, public assistance or Medicaid debts, second mortgages, etc., these debts must be paid first before anyone can get paid out from the proceeds from the real estate sale. Did you inherit tenants, too? Lastly, to determine if you can or want to sell the property, you need to figure out if the property is occupied. Did you inherit tenants? Is it vacent? If it's occupied, it will affect how you approach the estate. For example, if there is another heir living there and won't leave, that is a whole set of additional problems. If it's an actual tenant, it's not as clear cut as one would expect either. More often than not, tenants after the owner pass create problems and lose their moral compass. Evicting or removing tenants is usually a nightmare. It may change your approach to selling the property. Check out Anthony's book, “How Probate Works,” which will break down what is involved with administering a decedent's estate with property. Request your free consultation

Since we do so many probates, we see what parts of your planning actually helped with probate (dos), and which ones didn't really matter (don't bothers). We are reviewing this info so that you don't spend too much of your valuable time on planning that won't help all that much. This is based on our annual executor check in calls, in which we hear from our clients who have well intended plans to gather information for us, should we need it. Which in most cases, we don't. We are trying to save you stress and make the estate planning process a little bit easier. Solo ager estate planning “dos” Good and proper storage of original documents is important. It's best to keep the original with your professional executor or other third party. Do not keep it yourself. This is for many reasons, such as access your home or apartment. Additionally, if a third party loses your will, probate could still move forward with a copy. However, if you lose it, it's presumed that you intentionally destroyed it. Same goes for a safe deposit box – it's hard to get access to this. It's not impossible, but it's very challenging. Update your emergency contacts and be sure your executor is among those listed. An emergency contact list should be given to someone who will know of your death. This could be a building manager, doorman, neighbor, primary care physician, etc. You want to make sure they know who to notify in the event of your passing, including of importance, your executor and next of kin. You should also review your beneficiary designations. We have talked before about why we don't like beneficiary designations, but if you have them, make sure up to date. Or better yet, get rid of them. You certainly want to make sure they represent your wishes, and not your wishes 10 or 20 years ago. “Don't bothers” for your solo ager estate plan Don't use treasure maps. We have received detailed letters and emails with where the will is, where their important documents are, and even where their spare keys are. More often than not, the location of these items will change by the time of your passing. It may take us longer to use the treasure map to find them than it would to simply look on our own. Plus, it would be a waste of time searching if they have been moved. It's not worth the amount of time you'd spend writing this type of “map.” We don't need contact lists. Typically, the lists we've seen include building managers, financial advisors, etc. These change often. We find when we make these calls, the people on the list no longer even work there. Speaking of lists, detailed lists of assets which include balances and very specific info is also not needed. High level information is good enough (such as the name of financial institution). Balances change daily, so by the time you write it down, it's likely changed. Sort of helpful There are a few things we would categorize as sort of helpful, but you don't need to spend time on these, if you don't want. Password lists are one example of a sort of helpful thing to do. A list is nice to have, but post-death access to online accounts is not permitted, even if we have your password and log in. We simply can't use those passwords. Email and social accounts may have some use to be able to access names and addresses, although again, we have rarely used these. Same with phone passwords. We seldom log into a decedent's phone, and if we do, it's only to find a contact name that we couldn't find elsewhere. A high level asset list is sort of helpful. It will give us a general sense of what you own to point us in the right direction. We would use this list along with the other items we collect (mail, past tax returns, bank statements, etc.) to be sure we aren't missing something. A list of contacts that are likely to not change is also sort of helpful. This includes next of kin, your primary care doctor, and possibly your CPA. It's good info to know, but likely, we would get the newest information from the documents we have gathered. Solo Ager Book If you don't already have my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” click the link below for a copy. Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

As you can imagine, probating a hoarder's estate adds a few more complications. In this episode, we will talk about how to deal with some of the main challenges. A hoarder can be defined as someone that likes to keep a lot of things; those that hold on to items with little value. As an executor, we define it as a situation where it's abnormally difficult to navigate the living quarters. For example, a hallway that isn't a hallway. Or trouble opening a door, because there are items blocking it. How much does it cost to clean a hoarder's estate? On average, to clean out a hoarder's house, it will cost about two to three times as much as it would cost to clean out a similar living space of the same size. We've chatted about the costs for cleaning a “normal” home, which can add up in a typical situation. For example, if you're cleaning out a hoarder's one-bedroom apartment, the cost will be the equivalent of a two-to-three-bedroom home. The reality is that you will need more movers, trucks, and dumpsters. Another level of additional cost is dependent upon the cleanliness, which you may not know until the stuff is removed. You may be facing possible additional safety/hazmat costs, depending on the severity. How to find important items in a hoarder probate Another twist when you are dealing with a hording situation in probate, is how to find important items in the home. Even in normal (or conventional, typical) estates, it can be hard to track down important items. For example, executors need to look and find estate planning documents, tax returns, or tangible gifts such as art, jewelry, collectibles. There's a much higher risk of not finding these items when the home is in this condition. In addition, it makes the cleanout process much slower. Typically, we can find the items before it's cleaned out. But, in a hoarding situation, we have to wait for the movers to clean out walkways to access areas to search. They are helping us gain more elbow room and to be able to navigate the living area. It's a move items, search for items, move more items, search for more items game. You have to search as they are cleaning, which prolongs the process and adds time and money. How to protect a hoarder's reputation during probate Another layer is how to protect the reputation of a hoarder during probate. Most hoarders aren't proud of their situation, how much stuff they had, how they lived, etc. In this case, more than a few hoarders have explicitly asked us (as their professional executor) to hide the situation from family, friends, and neighbors. We've talked previously on how to handle privacy for our clients. We are happy to do this for them. We will select our cleanout crew carefully, making sure they have a high level of professionalism and discretion. We've seen crews that have someone at the door nudging along nosey neighbors and some that even set up barriers to block the view in the home. In a building setting, even requesting the assistance of the building managers is important, as they are the first line of gossip defense. If you want to find out what is required of an executor, I suggest reading my book, “How to Hire an Executor.” A non-professional executor may get overwhelmed by this particular situation. In addition, hiring a professional who will adhere to your request for reputation protection in a hording situation is important. Request your free consultation  

Could you imagine doing a ton of work and not getting paid? It's frustrating, but it happens. One of the drawbacks of nonprofessional executors is they are more likely to lose their executor fee, despite doing months, even years, of work for the estate. In this podcast, we are going to discuss a few real-world instances where this happened. We want to help you see that this can happen and that you don't want to take on the executor role expecting a nice piece of change for your hard work. It sounds like a decent payday, but as we've discussed before, the ratio of hours worked to amount paid is not equal, and you may not even get a penny. Family changed their minds, denied his executor fee In this case, “Joey's” aunt passed away and the aunt was survived by siblings. Joey was not even an heir and didn't even live in New York, but he was younger and financially savvy. He was in a position to defer his job offer to focus on being an executor. Of course, his family “graciously” agreed to have him serve as executor. So, Joey moved from California to New York and deferred a legitimate job offer. He put in three years of hard work administering the complex estate. In the end, his uncles objected to Joey getting paid. Literally at the very end, right as disbursement checks were being written out. Yes, he did have the right to fight for this executor commission, but it would put the family at odds with each other. So, for the sake of preserving family harmony, Joey didn't fight. He walked away. For those that think this would never happen to them or to their families, we hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it happens often, unfortunately. Family drama can happen when you're dealing with emotions and money. Contested will, contested executor commission In this second situation, “Linda” was named as executor in her aunt's will. Some family members contested the will, and after a lengthy and expensive litigation, the family settled on a revised breakdown of their inheritance. Side note – this was a good case where the decedent should have made a better plan to omit them. During all this time, Linda, as the executor, was doing all the grunt work for over a year to vacate, repair, and sell her aunt's dilapidated house. She also had to deal with the very stressful process of evicting bad tenants. She did a great job. Again, at the very end, right as checks were about to be sent out in accordance with the negotiated settlement agreement, the contesting family objected to Linda getting an executor commission. So, the family litigated that too, and Linda unhappily eventually settled on a reduced commission because the legal fees would've kept adding up to keep fighting. We watched her work so hard to eventually get less than deserved. Could you imagine working your normal full-time job to then get notice of a large reduction at the end of the year? Court denied her executor compensation “Kristy's” good friend named her executor because Kristy happened to be a lawyer (though not a probate lawyer). Her friend made a DIY will. Only when her friend passed and Kristy began probate did she learn that since she's a lawyer (even though she wasn't a probate lawyer and wasn't acting as a lawyer for her good friend), the will needed certain additional paperwork and affidavits. In the absence of this paperwork and affidavits, the Court cut Kristy's executor compensation in half! Kristy spent multiple stressful years dealing with her friend's estranged yet demanding heirs, banking issues, and other complications. In Kristy's own words, she said that being an executor was “not worth it,” and she was a little embittered to her friend for putting her in such stressful role. These are a few reasons that we talk about professional executors. If using a professional executor, family dynamics wouldn't be a factor and there would be less of a debate by the family regarding the executor receiving their fee. Executor To learn more about hiring a professional executor, so this doesn't happen to a friend or family member, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon! Request your free consultation  

Here's a mental exercise to put yourself in the shoes of your bitcoin heirs. The underlying assumption is that your heirs know nothing or know way less than you do about bitcoin. Many bitcoiners have a pretty deep knowledge of bitcoin, self-custody, operational security, and so on. And you may be so deep down the rabbit hole that you forget how daunting and confusing bitcoin can be. Maybe by the time you pass away, bitcoin knowledge will become more common. But for now, most people don't know what they're doing. All of the above topics may as well be a foreign language to your non-bitcoiner heirs. And that's a useful way to imagine how your heirs will feel. Think as if your bitcoin heirs will probate your estate in a completely foreign country (or planet). Bitcoin is a different world Imagine you had to probate an estate in a completely foreign country. Even with translation apps, you really don't understand the basic language, especially slang and technical jargon. Even the most basic concepts are completely different.  For example, opening or closing an “account” doesn't make sense in that foreign jurisdiction. This is the type of confusion that your non-bitcoiner heirs may face, even if they have dabbled in bitcoin before. On top of all that, your heirs are dealing with the grief of your passing and other family dynamics. Now imagine your heirs attempting bitcoin inheritance schemes Now imagine your heirs attempting to follow a letter of instruction, a treasure map to constitute seed phrase shards, or operating a multisig wallet. If they do something wrong, everything could be lost. Many of us still have a hard time empathizing, and think “I'll write such a clear letter of instruction, no problem.” I'm sure your heirs wouldn't want to be thrown into another planet with just one piece of paper telling them what to do. Remember, you have spent years researching and learning about bitcoin. An instruction letter is going to seem absurd and overwhelming to someone who knows next to nothing about bitcoin, let alone the probate process. Pretend your uncle tells you he has assets in a foreign country: you don't speak the language, you don't know the customs or systems, and at every turn a corrupt bureaucrat or scammer could irrevocably steal everything. But don't worry, he's writing a really clear letter explaining everything! How would you help your heirs with a foreign probate? Whatever you think they'd need for a foreign probate is how you should help your heirs with their bitcoin inheritance. You could try connecting them with a friend who is (reasonably) trustworthy and familiar with the foreign situation. You could go a step further by finding and vetting a local lawyer or other professional who your heirs can hire to help. I know this rubs a lot of bitcoiners the wrong way because these ideas involve relying on a trusted third-party. From the point of view of someone who hates “trusted third-parties,” these suggestions may be a necessary evil to make sure your heirs actually inherit your bitcoin. A trusted third-party can be a back-up plan, but you can't rely solely on a letter of instruction to a clueless bitcoin heir. That's just asking for a post-death disaster. If your heirs can't administer your bitcoin correctly and it gets lost, everything you worked so hard for is gone. As you know, I've been touring bitcoin communities to get a sense of how it all works. One thing I've observed from bitcoiners is their inability to remember how hard it was for them in the beginning. They know so much now, but it's easy to forget that their heirs are starting from scratch. Another thing is that people still mess up when dealing with “normal” bank accounts and brokerages during probate. Probate is not an easy process, and adding bitcoin to the mix just makes it that much harder for your executor and heirs. Probate (can apply to Bitcoin) Check out my book, “How Probate Works,” to get an understanding of the probate process. Then add all the extra steps your executor and heirs will need to do to administer your bitcoin. As always, reach out with your questions and feedback! Request your free consultation  

It's understandable that beneficiary designations seem like an excellent and easy estate planning tool. But from our experience, when someone actually dies, beneficiary designations are often bad news. We'll describe a few reasons why beneficiary designations cause problems in probate when estate plans become reality. Then you can decide for yourself if beneficiary designations are worth the risk. Outdated beneficiary designations don't reflect your wishes Often, by the time a person dies, their beneficiary designations are way outdated and no longer reflect the wishes of the decedent. How do we know that the designations are outdated? The beneficiary designations clearly conflict with the will, trust, letter of last instructions, and last conversations. Why? It is too easy to forget to update your beneficiary designations. It's easy to download a beneficiary form from the bank website, sign, and return it. But, it's very easy to forget to submit a change of beneficiary form when you make changes to your estate plan. For privacy reasons, the bank doesn't list your beneficiaries when you get your statements. You have to remember to check if you're not reminded on a regular basis. During our annual reviews, we try our best to nudge our solo agers to keep their beneficiaries up to date (or remove them). My preference is to remove the beneficiary designations and let everything flow through the will. What happens if there is not enough money in an estate? Accounts with beneficiary designations are NOT part of the probate estate. This means that your Executor has no control over those funds. The money will go directly to your named beneficiary (who could be your girlfriend from decades ago that you forgot to remove...). Too many accounts with named beneficiaries can result in a cash-poor estate. There are not enough funds to pay for estate expenses, court fees, appraisers, debts, or even for the heirs named in your will. Not having money to pay debts and creditors can cause more problems, because creditors may go after the heirs. Even worse, there may not be any funds available to pay the beneficiaries named in your will, because the bank accounts went directly to the account beneficiaries. It will be sad for the heir in the will, since it wasn't your intent to leave them with no inheritance. Hard to know until probate has already begun It creates an annoying catch-22. Meaning, banks/brokerages only reveal if there are named beneficiaries to the beneficiaries themselves or to a court-appointed executor. How do you know if probate is necessary if you don't know whether there are any beneficiaries? Your executor may waste time and money to set up probate, only to find out that there was no reason to probate because the accounts have named beneficiaries. It's frustrating to tell the family that they paid us just to tell them that the account funds are going elsewhere. Also, the banks do not reveal this information easily, even to the court-appointed executor. Sometimes executors still have to jump through hoops to get the banks to cooperate. Solo Ager Book Beneficiary designations seem great on paper, and I get it. But, time and again, we've seen how this does not end well in reality. Hopefully this prompts you to just take a look at all of your accounts sometime soon. If you don't have it already, click on the link to my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” for a free download. Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

Tax clearance is taking even longer lately because of a new twist: 1040 verification. Everyone agrees it's important to keep the tax bogeyman satisfied, but all these layers of delays are frustrating our clients and us. Below we'll explain what's happening here. What is tax clearance and why does it take so long? The executor needs to make sure that the IRS agrees no more taxes are due. This is important because the executor is personally liable for unpaid taxes. If the executor makes distributions to the heirs and the heirs sign indemnity agreements, then the heirs will be liable for taxes. Maybe you're thinking that your loved one's estate was so small that there's no estate tax. We're not just talking about estate tax, but final 1040s, payroll, small business, retirement payouts, and just about everything else. Still don't think it applies? You'd be surprised how complex someone's tax situation can be. The IRS is pretty good at combing through the past six years to make sure they get everything owed to them (it's the IRS's last chance to be paid). Why does it take so long, generally? As with any bureaucracy, it takes the executor a while to gather all information and past returns. (Try getting a tax transcript quickly from the IRS!). The IRS will also take their time since this is their last bite at the apple. And lately, everything related to the IRS takes way longer due to unprecedented delays and backlog. As you recall, the lock-downs were in 2020. It's mind boggling how the IRS is so backed up three years later. Now the IRS wants verification If the estate is owed a refund on any of its final returns, the IRS now requires identify verification of the decedent. It's understandable that the IRS is taking these measures, since scammers posing as IRS agents have become ubiquitous. But the result is that estates are getting stuck for more weeks or months because of $10 refund. Why does IRS verification cause longer delays? It's because all bureaucracies are slow, and are even slower if your situation is not on their main “script.” For example, if you go to the bank to open a personal checking account, it's easy for the tellers who open checking accounts several times a day. But if you have a non-traditional request, such as closing a decedent's account, the teller probably has to go ask a manager for help. When you go off-script from procedures that an employee is used to, then things can go haywire. Whether it's multinational banks or the largest government in the world (US), these bureaucracies struggle with edge case situations. It's very hard to find a competent banker, branch manager, or IRS agent who understands what an executor is, let alone the correct procedure for dealing with a deceased customer or taxpayer. You're pretty lucky if you speak to a knowledgeable agent on your first call, if you get to speak to anyone at all. Can't we just forego the $10 refund? Ah, nice try. The IRS will not process the return (not just the refund check) until they verify the decedent's identity. When a return is not processed, you can't get confirmation of the final balance and therefore the final release from liability. For example, when you call the IRS to verify, they ask if you are the decedent. Once you tell them you are the executor, it heads downhill from there. It sounds absurd, but it happens. The 1040 verification is a new procedure, so this is a heads up for those facing a new estate. For those who have been working on an estate for a while, this could be a reason why the estate is now dragging on. When we say that we're waiting along with you, we mean it. It's an uphill backwards in the snow with no shoes kind of battle. Probate Check out my book, “How Probate Works,” and when you get to the chapter on delays, just add on more time. Unfortunately, that's the way things are right now. Request your free consultation

How do you sell a probate co-op, when the estate has no other cash? Why does the estate need cash? To pay for all the preparations, such as movers to clean out the property, cleaners, contractors for minimum renovations to make the property marketable, and more. For some houses, cash buyers/investors may be an option. But for other houses and the many co-ops in NYC, it's not an option. Sell personal property When the estate has no cash or bank accounts, it's usually because the accounts have named beneficiaries. When the estate only has accounts with named beneficiaries, there's no operating account for the estate. Beneficiary designations are one of my pet peeves; they usually mess things up rather than solving inheritance problems. So, the estate has a valuable piece of real estate, but no means to pay for the necessary steps to turn it into cash. Usually, the personal property in the residence is junk. I know someone may value their yard sale treasures or the dining room set that took forever to pick out, but no one else wants it. Antiques and high-end pieces can be sold easily, but generally it's not worth the cost of running an estate sale for the other personal property. In this situation, the executor has no choice, so maybe but maybe they can sell enough pieces, jewelry, or anything to raise funds for the estate. Again, not a great situation: you're essentially asking your executor to conduct a garage sale in hopes of raising enough money to clean out the rest of the junk! Ask heirs to pay Another undesirable option is asking the heirs to pay. The bottom line is that the heirs almost never have available funds. Even if heirs have the funds, they probably don't want to contribute. Besides, even if one heir funds the estate, it causes imbalance and it is recipe for drama. The one who funds the estate will expect special treatment over the other heirs. Bridge loans A bridge loan is a short-term loan to get you from being illiquid to being able to sell the real estate. Bridge loans are not the same as usurious inheritance funding loans. This is a loan that is secured by the property itself. For that reason, some bridge loans have 0% interest! So, what's the catch? There's lots of paperwork and specific conditions to get a bridge loan. Some loans require you to work with a particular broker or firm. But if that doesn't bother you and you have no other options, it's not too bad. Applying for a bridge loan is similar to filling out a mortgage application. Executor Those are the not so ideal solutions to selling a cash-poor probate co-op. If you dump this situation on a family member or friend, they probably won't have nice things to say about you after your death. Hiring a professional executor is a good idea in this situation. To learn more, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon! Request your free consultation  

If you're a solo ager and you must use a power of attorney (POA), make it as limited as possible. We received the following from a solo ager listener: “You state in your book that a financial power of attorney is not necessary if there's a solid living trust in place. (I don't feel the risk of abuse is a critical concern in my case). However, my lawyer says I need to name one.”- Lori This attorney refused to complete our listener's estate plan unless she included a financial power of attorney. Why I avoid POAs whenever possible Powers of attorney are very overpowered. It can be executed with just a simple notary with no witness requirements. But, for that basic execution, there is unlimited control over someone else's finances, house, etc. Powers of attorney are pretty unstructured. There are no guide rails in the law for how an agent under the POA is compensated or whether there should be an accounting proceeding. Besides, if you have a revocable living trust, then you have most of the benefits of a power of attorney. You would only need a POA if you are traveling abroad or incapacitated. You'd need someone to manage the funds on your behalf so you don't fall into arrears or foreclosure. I don't think the risk of having a financial power of attorney is worth covering those outlaying scenarios. If you ever read a standard power of attorney, you'll see that the agent has the power to do almost anything with your finances and property. A supreme example from the news headlines is of Brooke Astor, a famous New York philanthropist. Her son was able to siphon about $80 million from her estate with a simple POA, contrary to the rest of her estate plan. You might read the scenario above and say, well, I'd only give power of attorney to someone I trust. We've seen people who used to be the most trusted candidates go astray. Money does interesting things to people. This fear should not keep you from creating an estate plan, but keep in mind that you should minimize the use of a POA. Why would an estate planning lawyers insist you sign a POA The short answer is that I don't know why anyone would be that stubborn to make their client do things their way. It's like a doctor saying, “Get this surgery and you will be better. If you don't listen to me, then I won't be your doctor anymore.”  If they can't explain their reasons to your satisfaction and still insist, consider changing lawyers. Some attorneys have always done estate planning “packages”, and haven't changed with the times. It might be hard to leave an attorney that you've been working with for a long time and who you are otherwise comfortable with. But, if you can't get a decent answer to this pretty powerful question, it might be worth getting at least a second opinion. Ways to limit a power of attorney If you feel that you need a power of attorney, then ask the attorney to make it a limited one. There are two main ways to limit a POA: The first way is to get a springing POA instead of a general POA. A general POA is effective immediately upon signing. A springing POA is conditional; those powers only come into existence if certain conditions are met. Usually this means that you must be deemed incompetent by two physicians. The second way to limit a POA is to only choose specific powers for the agent to have. You don't want to check the box that says your agent under the POA has the power to gift all of your money. And you certainly don't want to check the last box that says, “All of the above.” Carefully choose only the powers that are needed to accomplish your goals. If it's not something you would do in your own capacity, don't give someone else the power to do it! Solo Ager If you don't already have my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” click the link below for a copy. Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

A placeholder bitcoin inheritance plan may be the solution to spur bitcoiners into action, rather than pursuing a “perfect” plan. Instead of holding off on a plan until it's perfect, have a placeholder plan in the meantime in case anything happens to you while you are still perfecting your inheritance plan. Perfect is the enemy of done, and using a placeholder plan may help avoid overthinking and analysis paralysis. Why bitcoiners need SOME inheritance plan With bitcoin, there is no default safety net. Other assets, like a regular bank account, are connected to centralized institutions, meaning the funds won't be lost. Banks and brokerages offer features such as password recovery. You heirs can submit letters testamentary to these institutions to make a death claim on your assets. Even if no one claims in a timely fashion, the funds don't just disappear, they go to the state's unclaimed funds. But not with bitcoin! You need a plan for your bitcoin. The cryptographic security solutions (password, seed phrase, etc.), also make it hard for your heirs to access your bitcoin upon your death. So even though 60% of people have no estate plan, a bitcoiner MUST have some kind of plan to avoid catastrophic loss Baselayer bitcoin inheritance plan This doesn't have to be a plan that you love; t's just a placeholder until you complete your treasure map or other “perfect plan.” Once you have your “perfect” plan, don't just scrap the placeholder. The placeholder can shift to your backup plan. Even with traditional estate planning, people name successor executors and backup beneficiaries. Think of your bitcoin plan in the same way. It's your own unclaimed funds scenario. If your carefully crafted plan doesn't work, at least you have a backup plan in place. Placeholder bitcoin inheritance plan must be frictionless Your placeholder plan must be easy for you to set up or else you won't do it. Otherwise, you'll continue pondering that elusive perfect plan (or fail to have a backup). First, your placeholder plan should be low cost regarding money and time. It should be easy to do yourself with minimal need for outside assistance. Second, it should be a plan that you know will work to avoid catastrophic loss, even if it sacrifices a little bit of what you care about. For example, you may have to give up client information, or rely a little bit on a third party like a professional executor, or maybe it's not your ideal security situation. As long as the placeholder plan falls within tolerable thresholds, you can be willing to sacrifice a little bit to not lose a lot! I haven't fleshed out a good placeholder plan yet, but a good place to start is a DIY will coupled with some version of a poor man's multisig, while using a professional executor as a keyholder. Again, I know this is not exactly the plan you want, but set it up so that it works for now. Otherwise, there is no safety net while you are developing your prefect plan. Probate (can apply to Bitcoin) My book, “How Probate Works,” will help you understand the foundations of probate. This should give you guidance as you develop your plan, because you'll learn about situations that your heirs may encounter after your death. Request your free consultation    

How do you find a trustworthy fiduciary to make end of life decisions for you if you're a solo ager? We get these questions often from our solo ager clients and followers: “What provisions may be made if someone has no healthcare proxy?“ “When there is no one to take care of you as you age and you become ill, how can you ever find a fiduciary you can trust?” We'll review the problem, the lack of options, and if/when we're able to help. Solo agers' problem This end-of-life fiduciary problem is very similar to the executor problem, but more intimate. Typically, solo agers do not have the traditional spouse or adult kids to fill the role. Some solo agers don't want to burden (or are not comfortable asking) more distant relatives or friends to fill the role. An end-of-life fiduciary is not just a money or estate administration role, but rather extremely personal medical role. This means asking someone to make important end-of-life decisions for you and even be present at your death bed. The bottom line is that you do NOT want a random court-appointed stranger to fill this role. A court-appointed fiduciary wouldn't know you or your wishes at all. Not many options With executors, you have the option of choosing professional executors , as well as banks, trust companies, and in some states, there are certified professional executors. There is a small, but developed industry around professional executorship. But there are far fewer options for someone to be your hired health care proxy/agent. In the case where a health care agent is hired, it is usually an attorney. This isn't always a great option either. One of our followers said that she talked to an attorney and didn't feel comfortable with her because all she talked about was the hourly fee. The attorney quoted over $800.00 just to "sign her up." Another said that the attorney “refused to have an initial meeting with me because she's a ‘busy person' and I'd have to hire her before she'd see me.” Obviously, an attorney won't provide these services for free, but the attorneys can be more tactful about it. For example, when we are asked to serve as a professional executor, we meet with the person to make sure we are a good fit. It's hard to imagine someone would want name a health care agent without meeting them first. How (and when) we‘ll be your health care proxy We do not accept this role capriciously. I won't do it unless I am your nominated executor/trustee or otherwise known you for at least several years. Again, I want to make sure we have a good working relationship. This includes annual calls and check-ins (which we have discussed in other episodes). I want to be sure that I have a directional sense of your personality and wishes before I commit to making medical decisions. When the end-of-life period comes, it is a stressful time both for the client and me. I need to feel confident I can faithfully carry out your wishes. My book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” can help you prepare for end-of-life decisions. Click the link below to receive a free copy. As always, keep your questions coming! Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”  

What information are heirs entitled to, and how often can they request it? There is a delicate balance for executors to keep heirs in the loop without draining their time or estate resources in constantly responding to inquiries. Executor vs. beneficiary rights Why is it important to balance executor and beneficiary rights? If heirs demand too much, an overwhelmed executor may make errors with actual estate decisions, or grow weary. On a more emotional level, the executor may begin to resent the decedent for putting them through this. On the flip side, if the executor ignores or stonewalls the heirs, the heirs may resent the decedent for his choice of executor. Disgruntled heirs may pointlessly sue the executor at the end during the accounting process. The best way to strike a balance is to address their respective legal rights. The Accounting The main legal requirement of the executor is the accounting. Note that the accounting comes at the END of the estate. The accounting records every dollar in and out during the executor's tenure. The executor presents the accounting to heirs, the court, and possibly creditors. Unlike some other states, New York generally has a “give them enough rope” approach, where the executor has tons of autonomy and authority. But with great power comes great responsibility: the executor is personally liable for any “mistakes” at the end. There is no statutory legal requirement for providing the heirs with constant updates, just the accounting at the end. But, real world expectations outside of the statutory limitations means giving periodic updates to the heirs. Periodic updates It is best practice for executors to update heirs during the big milestones, such as selling the real estate or successfully filing the tax return. Sometimes those milestones are far apart, so at the very least, the executor should update the heirs every 6 months or even quarterly. It is important for executors to set expectations in the beginning of how often the heirs will hear from them. If the executor doesn't update the heirs, a judge may not be happy. When heirs get frustrated, they can file a motion to compel accounting with the court. The judge won't normally grant such a request 6 months into the estate. But, if the judge finds out that the heirs haven't been updated in those 6 months, maybe he will be annoyed and approve the request. Executors should also update the heirs because they may want to buy-in from the heirs regarding major decisions along the way. It would be bad if the heirs found out months later that mom's house was sold for a certain amount. Keeping the heirs informed eliminates unpleasant surprises and lessens the chance that they will sue the executor for decisions they disagree with. The executor doesn't have to ask the heirs for permission to do anything, but keeping them in the loop gives the heirs a say in decision-making. If you want to find out what is required of an executor, I suggest reading my book, “How to Hire an Executor.” A non-professional executor may get overwhelmed by all of the questions and requests from heirs and may not know where to draw the line. Something to consider is hiring a professional executor to deal with your heirs instead of placing the burden on a family member or friend. Request your free consultation  

Heirs often want to know if there is any way to get their inheritance faster. Probate can take a long time, for various reasons, and lately it has been taking even longer because IRS delays are making tax clearance even slower. So, here are some options for heirs in a cash crunch. Expense reimbursements First, the executor can pay expense reimbursements as soon as possible. This includes reimbursing heirs who paid the funeral bill, court or lawyer fees, clean out or move out costs, co-op fees, mortgage payments, and property repairs. Heirs who fronted these funds are entitled to be reimbursed from the estate. Of course, reimbursements are not actually your inheritance, but repayment of money owed back to you. But if you need liquidity NOW, this can usually come out of the estate quickly with minimal delays. For example, court fees are unequivocal, so those can be reimbursed immediately once the estate has funds available. Requesting a reimbursement from the estate is a quick way to get cash back into your pocket. Some heirs pull thousands of dollars from their personal bank accounts to cover the estate expenses and can't afford to wait a year or longer to replenish their accounts. Intermediate accounting Another alternative it to do an intermediate accounting. One of the main steps to close an estate is to do an accounting of the full books and ledgers of the executor's tenure (every dollar that came in and out of the estate). The accounting is usually done at the end of the estate process because it is time-consuming and costly. It's difficult to track down every transaction over the span of several years, even though the executor keeps track as they go along. An intermediate accounting takes place in the middle of the probate process, so that the executor is approved to distribute a portion of the funds to the heirs. The problem with an intermediate accounting that the executor is duplicating work that they have to do all over again at the end of the estate. An intermediate accounting doubles the cost but may be worth it if heirs need cash and the delays are really long. This may frustrate other heirs who do not see a need for an intermediate accounting, and they may demand that the duplicate costs be paid for by the heir who wants the accounting. Most people don't like paying for something twice if they don't have to! Inheritance advance loan There is another option, but I highly discourage it: the inheritance advance loan. It is BAD idea, because it is a loan that takes advantage of an heir's need for money. With an inheritance advance loan, you can pay 50-100% interest/fees! If your share of the estate will be $50,000 and you need $10,000 now, the loan company will give you $10,000 now. But, at the end of the estate, the executor will give you $30,000 because for the $10,000 that you borrowed, you owe the lending company $20,000. If for some reason your share of the estate becomes less than you thought it would be or if you need to spend more money on litigation, repayment may be a problem. In the narrowest of circumstances, this option may be worth it. Please explore the other options of expense reimbursements and intermediate accounting first. Talk to your executor or attorney to make sure all other options are exhausted before perusing an inheritance advance loan. This option exists for worst case nuclear emergencies. Probate Check out by book, “How Probate Works,” so you can understand the probate process and have reasonable expectations up front about getting your money. We try to make it clear to our clients that this process could take months or even years. Some clients may decide to go to other more optimistic attorneys, but I don't like to over-promise and under-deliver. Request your free consultation

What are some less costly alternatives for a managed multi-sig bitcoin inheritance plan? Why poor man's multi-sig? A multi-sig setup is good for inheritance purposes, because multiple keys are needed to access your funds. This way, there's no pressure on one single keyholder to have high-level security. In a multi-sig, if one person loses their key, an attacker or hacker can't do much without the other keys. Of course, the keyholders should keep the keys secure. But if one leaves his 12 key words laying around, it's not as risky as it would be if he was the sole keyholder. Also, the keyholders should be geographically distributed – don't give them to people all living in the same house. A drawback of using multi-sig is that it can be expensive, especially if your stack isn't that big. Having 3 to 5 hardware wallets can cost several hundreds of dollars. It might not be cost-justified by the current level of your holdings. Many of the good plans are through popular services (such as Unchained Capital, Casa, and Nunchuk). However, those are possible single points of failure. If a hacker knows that some of your keys are with these companies, they may find a way to access them. It's easier for a hacker to hit one of these companies instead of hitting a computer in a random house. These companies are also an easy target for subpoenas. Maybe you going through a divorce or a child custody battle, or maybe you have IRS or creditor issues. They may figure out that you are using a big company and figure out where to serve papers in hopes of getting your account information. Separate seed from passphrase What are some poor man options to avoid the expense of multiple hardware devices, as well as the small risk of using a centralized key-holding company? One option is to separate your seed from your passphrase. If you have a wallet with 12 or 24 words, you can additionally add a passphrase (which is an equivalent of a 13th or 25th word). Now you need both the 12 or 24 words and the passphrase to access the wallet. While you are alive, you can just transact normally with your wallet and passphrase. But the plan is to give the seed phrase (the 12 or 24 words) to your executor and backup executors, while giving the passphrase to your heirs or someone else. After your death, those two parties need to team up to access your wallet. While you are alive, they cannot access your wallet unless they combine the seed and passphrase. This is similar to multi-sig, where neither keyholder has to exercise extreme caution. But you should choose people who will keep these safe. BUT what if your executors and heirs are the same people? In that case, you may want to hire a professional executor as a professional keyholder. Giving your adult children the seed and the passphrase makes it very easy for them to conspire together while you are alive. Separate clone wallet from PIN Another option is to separate your clone wallet from your PIN. You can load your seed phrase into a dedicated hardware wallet that is not directly connected to the internet. In order to turn on your device, you have to enter a PIN. During your life, you transact with your wallet and PIN as usual. Here, the bitcoin inheritance plan is to give a clone wallet to your executor and backup executors without the PIN. Then you give the PIN to your heirs or someone else, creating your own 2 of 2 multi-sig. Again, neither keyholder needs to exercise extreme caution, since there is not much anyone can do with only one piece of the puzzle. A huge drawback is that without the PIN, your executor cannot keep the clone wallet up to date (software updates, etc.). Depending how much time lapses before you die, he could end up with a very outdated device. To address this, you may have to do some periodic updates for the executor. Probate (can apply to Bitcoin) There's no perfect plan; these are some options for folks who can't cost-justify using a multi-sig, but like the idea of splitting up access for security reasons. My book, “How Probate Works,” applies to your bitcoin inheritance planning because it explains the kinds of tasks your executor has to do when you pass. I'll be doing more talks to groups on this topic and we plan to post them shortly. In the meantime, keep your bitcoin questions coming! Request your free consultation  

E303 How to Choose an Executor Who Will Accept A common question from our Solo Agers is: does my executor have to accept? Because our Solo Agers spend a LOT of time carefully choosing who will be their executor, it would be terrible if that carefully chosen one decides to not even serve! Our Solo Agers understand the significance about who they choose, and they take it very seriously. We touched on this in Episode 221, but we'll dig a little deeper into the topic here. It's just a nominated executor The first thing to know is that this is just a nomination for an executor. When Solo Agers pick who they want as their executor, they should remember that it is not a contractually bound role. That chosen executor is not required to serve; he or she is just nominated for that position. It is up to them if they decide to serve at the time of your passing. There are many reasons why the nominated executor may not accept. They may have new health problems, or maybe they moved. In fact, many nominated executors don't even know they were appointed until the time comes. Is being executor too much work? There are some things to consider to be sure your executor will actually accept. Being an executor is difficult, and probate is a lengthy process. We discussed this in Episode 184, touching on the hours, months, and expertise required to fulfill the executor's duties. It almost ends up being a full-time job! Having this job hanging over the executor's head can easily stress them out. It is important to choose someone who is well-suited, meaning they have the legal or tax background and especially the time to devote to the task. Or you can just hire a professional executor. We have the staff and systems set up to deal with the challenges of executorship. Unfortunately, your nominated executor may agree to serve but won't realize it's too much work until they've already accepted. It is important that you do your research ahead of time so that you know what exactly you're asking of them. Is there enough compensation for your executor? An executor may decline if it's too much work for too little pay. In New York, executor compensation is set by state law, and it is a percentage of probate estate (meaning the assets that go through the executor's control). But it does NOT include non-probate assets such as accounts with beneficiary designations. If your estate includes creditors or tax issues, but there are only a few probate accounts to deal with the issues, your executor may decline to serve. Otherwise, your executor will be paid very little for dealing with all the headaches. No one wants to deal with that kind of mess and barely get paid. A solution may be to write a minimum executor compensation in your will, so that even if there are not enough probate assets, your executor could still be reasonably compensated. However, the statute is already set, so the executor may have to fight to get paid properly. Another solution is to make sure you have enough probate accounts by removing beneficiary designations from some of your accounts. However, your executor may not be able to accurately evaluate how much work is involved vs. how much compensation they will receive. Just because an estate is large does not necessarily mean that there are enough funds available to pay the executor properly. If it turns out to be too much work for too little pay, they may end up with unhappy memories of you. If you think your estate might present the issues discussed above, give us a call to talk through the pros and cons of hiring a professional executor or not. Solo Ager Book Below is the link to my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” which addresses the challenges of probate and executorship. And, as always, keep sending in your questions! Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

What is the minimum estate size that a professional executor will accept? A few prospective clients have called asking, so we'll review bank executor minimums, our minimums, and some exceptions. Bank executor estate minimum size requirements Typically, bank minimum sizes are high. In New York, it has been as high as 5 million or 2 million liquid assets held with the institution. In most cases, the bank wants an estate with mostly liquid assets. It's too much of a pain for them to deal with real estate, etc. They also want those liquid assets held at their bank. The bank generates fees and they get to have those assets invested in their products. Our estate size requirements We generally try to fill the niche between folks who have an estate large enough to need our services, but not large enough to use a bank as an executor. Generally, we've set the bar as low as $250,000, and we do not have a liquidity requirement. However, we do want to make sure there are enough liquid accounts to fund estate expenses. Usually $50,000 in liquid assets is plenty to cover estate expenses. You'll need to make sure the account with liquid funds does not have beneficiary designations. If you name a beneficiary on an account, that account will go directly to the beneficiary. This means the executor won't have access to the account to pay for estate expenses. These requirements may not be hard for many clients to meet, but we have run into some problems in the past. The biggest issue is beneficiary designations. Naming beneficiaries on an account means that the account will not go through probate. If there are only a handful of small accounts in your name alone (no beneficiaries), it's not really worth it for a professional executor to do all the work and deal with all the taxes and creditors without much compensation. Compensation is based on the size of the estate. A problem for New York clients is that many co-ops do not allow the ownership shares to be moved into a trust or have a beneficiary designations. This creates a need for a professional executor, even if your other assets are in trust or have named beneficiaries.  If you must have an executor to deal with your co-op, then you must make sure you leave at least one account of sufficient size (with no beneficiary designations) to go through probate. Again, your executor needs enough liquid assets to cover fees, clean out costs, and other costs to sell your co-op. If you don't leave sufficient liquidity, a professional executor will not accept. You don't want to waste your time researching and choosing an executor who won't accept based on your low liquid assets. What if my estate is too small? We do make exceptions for our clients and try our best to help. One helpful tip is to add language to your will or trust setting a minimum fee. Even if your estate is below $250,000, you can state that you want your executor to receive at least a certain amount. That way, you are guaranteeing that your executor gets paid even if the size of your probate estate is small. Even if your estate is small, you should still leave sufficient accounts without beneficiary designations so that your executor has funds to work with. And don't just leave that one perfect account, because that leaves little margin for error. If you forget and start spending from that account, then your executor may not accept due to low liquid assets. Lastly, if you want a professional executor to administer a small estate, do your best to minimize the drama. If you think there will be conflicts with heirs or a contested will, you may want to consider a revocable trust. Also, do a decent job of record keeping. Your executor won't want to deal with a huge forensic accounting problem for a small estate. In summary, make sure your estate is cost-justifiable for your professional executor to accept. You can learn more about choosing a professional executor in my book, “How to Hire an Executor.” Feel free to send questions via comments or email. We will do our best to answer them either directly or as the subject of a podcast. Request your free consultation  

Economic recession affects probate, just as much as wages, gas, and your grocery bill. We'll share a few ways we've seen how it's been impacting probates. Takes longer to collect probate assets First, there are major delays in collecting assets. Banks, brokerages, unclaimed funds, etc. are taking way longer than usual to process claims and release funds. They are asking for more documents and are stricter in their requirements. In the past, these financial institutions let some things slide, but now they want all the T's crossed and I's dotted. They may just be rigorous in their requirements now. But another interpretation is that they want to keep the money in their accounts as long as possible. This results in delays for the executor and heirs. The key takeaway is to start the process now! Creditors will not settle Historically, regarding an estate debt (exs. credit card or medical bills), creditors were willing to negotiate the bill down. It used to just take a phone call to get even 50% off easily. Now creditors want full payment. Some will even wait as long as it takes or even sue the estate. The notion of debts getting discharged or reduced isn't happening. The takeaway: don't count on getting the debt reduced to increase the amount the heirs will receive. Just assume that debts will be paid in full. This seems odd, considering we've been through recessions before. Even then, creditors were willing to settle estate debts to guarantee cash in hand. It is unclear what makes creditors so aggressive now. Heirs need cash Heirs need and want their cash as soon as possible. If you've listened to any of our prior podcasts, you know that paying heirs quickly is unrealistic. Estates take a long time to settle, but there are some solutions to make payments to the heirs sooner rather than later. One way is to pay reimbursements immediately. Sometimes heirs front money to pay for court filing fees, house clean-out, or the attorney's retainer. Normally, when the matter isn't urgent, the heirs get reimbursed at the end of the probate process. Why have multiple rounds of checks mailed out if it's not urgent? But, if you are an heir who has fronted money, just ask the executor for it. The executor should have no problem repaying you. We are also seeing heirs and executors making concessions during the accounting phase to get it done faster. In the past, parties might dispute how much money was spent on certain tasks (house clean-outs, for example). Now all sides just want to get the accounting done. Another option is to prepare an intermediate accounting. Instead of waiting until the end for the full accounting to distribute the inheritance, the executor can do a partial accounting to pay out a portion of the shares to the heirs. The problem is that the same level of work is required to produce an intermediate accounting as it is for a full accounting. Basically, the heirs pay for the accounting to be done twice, whether by the executor or an accountant. We may start seeing a trend where the heirs don't mind paying twice just so they can get some cash now. I hesitate to even mention the last option, since it is a bad idea. Inheritance funding companies can give cash to the heirs in exchange for a legal right to their share of the estate. For example, if your inheritance share is $50,000, the inheritance funding company will give you less than $20,000 now and they'll keep the rest when the accounting is done. These are horrible terms, so try to avoid this option! Probate If you want to learn more about probate, check out my book on Amazon, “How Probate Works.” If you fill out the form below, we will give you a free chapter. As always, send us comments or questions by email. We will do our best to answer them either directly or as the subject of a podcast. Request your free consultation

A shared Bitcoin family wallet sounds like a simple way for your heirs to inherit upon your death. We'll discuss the advantages of this setup, as well as some important drawbacks. What is a Bitcoin family wallet? It is a shared Bitcoin wallet, but not a multisig wallet. It is a singlesig wallet/device/app that multiple family members have access to. Hot wallet example: husband, wife, and kids use an app and all of them have the password and seed phrase. Cold wallet example: husband and wife share physical custody of the hardware wallet, PIN, and seed phrase. The kids know where the parents keep the hardware wallet and perhaps even know the PIN (but not the seed phrase).. Pros of Bitcoin inheritance with a family wallet Compared to other inheritance solutions, a family wallet is easy to set up and maintain. Unlike mulitsig or secret sharing, there are no extra steps. If you are comfortable with self-custody, then you are most likely comfortable updating your hardware device and keeping firmware up-to-date. It is also easier to make transactions during your lifetime. If you want to send or spend during your lifetime, it is easier with singlesig. With multisig, you have to get multiple signatures, and with secret sharing you might have to reconstitute your key to sign any spending transactions. With a shared family wallet, for example, your just sign the transaction with no extra steps. Because the shared family wallet is one wallet (and everyone knows it's stored in mom's dresser), there is very little treasure hunting upon death. It's even easier if everyone knows the PIN. Cons of a Bitcoin family wallet It is extremely poor security to have so many different people with access to a single wallet. First, there is the risk of a family member going wayward and just taking the wallet. Sadly, there was a news story of a son who drugged his dad's tea to get to dad's Bitcoin. No family is perfect, and if someone decides they are entitled to something more, they have instant access to a shared wallet. Second, when you have multiple people who have full access to a wallet, there are multiple points of careless error. For example, the son doesn't quite appreciate how self-custody works and leaves his copy of the seed phrase laying around. Everyone who has access to the wallet needs to take steps to maintain a high level of security. They all need to understand that the seed-phrase needs to be better protected than saving it on Google Drive (bad idea!). Similarly, there will be varying levels of interest and understanding of self-custody among the family members. Inheritance problems with a Bitcoin family wallet Recently, we've seen a case with a shared family wallet and multiple family members have been contributing/purchasing into the wallet. That can cause confusion as to who really owns what. Sure, you can figure out which transactions and which UTXOs belong to which purchaser. But it creates accounting issues and increases the risk of family drama even to the point of litigation. Commingling of funds is never a good idea, and this is a good example as to why. Upon your death, the question becomes: who's the boss? Whenever the answer is unclear, it increases risk of family conflict. With legacy probate, it's usually legally clear who's in charge (the named executor or trustee). That named person has the authority over the estate and that person also bears all the responsibility. If there are multiple key holders, whoever starts signing first is in charge. It's easy to imagine someone sweeping the wallet into a different wallet and seizing control. Now that person gets to decide who gets what. That is a recipe for family drama. Another problem is: will your heirs figure out what to do with Bitcoin upon your passing? Even if you are a Bitcoiner, your kids may not care enough to figure it out. For example, our client called saying: “My son is very intelligent, but he has no interest in learning Bitcoin custody now. He says he'll figure it out if anything happens to me.” It's a bad idea for even the smartest people to try and figure out Bitcoin on the fly. They can still make stupid mistakes compounded by the emotional stress of the loved one's death. If you make a mistake with self-custody Bitcoin, the result can be catastrophic loss. You can't pursue unclaimed funds, and there is no password reset. Executor (can apply to Bitcoin) If you have a shared family wallet, you may want to consider naming a professional Bitcoin executor, hiring a professional service, or naming a friend who is very familiar with the process. My book, “How to Hire an Executor,” is not specific to Bitcoin, but it will help you understand more about professional executor services that are available. As you know, we love this topic. Please email your questions or leave a comment on other Bitcoin-related topics you'd like us to cover. Request your free consultation    

Sometimes a revocable trust makes great sense for a solo ager estate plan. Generally, revocable trusts aren't so great in New York, because they can be hard to fully fund. The main goal of a revocable trust is to avoid probate. Since revocable trusts are hard to fully fund, the goal of avoiding probate is not usually met. Here are a few reasons a revocable trust may nonetheless work for a solo ager. Distant or disinherited heirs Solo agers tend to have distant or disinherited heirs. By definition, a solo ager is usually unmarried, without children, or those individuals are not in the picture. Naturally, this puts the solo ager in a situation where their heirs are distance (nieces, nephews, siblings, etc.). We had a recent client whose solo natural heir was a distant cousin. In this case, a trust makes sense to avoid probate. When the remaining heir is a first cousin, there are extra hurdles during the court process such as: hiring a genealogist to submit a genealogy report, having the Public Administrator (PA) review court dates, and it generally makes probate longer and more difficult. To be clear, this process not only applies when you leave something to that distant cousin. Rather, the probate process requires you to notify you natural “default” heirs under New York State law, which includes distant cousins. Even if you don't want to leave anything to the distant heir, the estate is still required to go through this process if the estate is probated. Similarly, if you have a disinherited family member, they have the opportunity to object to your will or wishes during the probate process. Having a trust still gives them the opportunity to object, but it is not as structured as probate. Under the probate process, the heirs must be served notice of the proposed will distributions, during which they have the right to object. When administering a trust, the heirs are not required to receive notice. Unless the heirs do some digging on their own, they may not actually object. As mentioned above, you must fully fund your trust in order to avoid these problems. Say you have an apartment, a few bank accounts, and a few brokerage accounts. If, for example, the apartment does not make it into the trust, you still have to go through probate even if the bank and brokerage accounts are in the trust. Even if only one asset goes through probate, you are at risk for a longer probate process (described above) and the potential issues with distant heirs. In lieu of guardianship A revocable trust can be useful in lieu of guardianship. Putting your assets into a trust can help avoid and maybe deter the dreaded court-appointed stranger. There are situations where court-appointed strangers/guardians might impose themselves on a solo ager with no advocates. They might get the court to agree that the solo ager is incompetent to manage assets (when in fact, the solo ager is able). Thus, the court-appointed guardian gains control over the solo ager's assets. The Netflix movie, “I Care a Lot,” is a dramatized version of how something like this could happen. If all of your assets are in a trust, and the trust is drafted properly, the court will not appoint a stranger or guardian to gain control of your assets. The trust states who will receive your assets, so there is little incentive for a person to try to get appointed as your guardian. For the goal of avoiding guardianship, partial funding of the trust if ok if you are able to get the majority of your assets into the trust. As long as the assets that don't make it into the trust are not enough of to lure a court-appointed stranger, then it should be fine. Again, it is a lot of work for someone to convince the court that you are incompetent. End of life planning (maybe) When you are terminally ill, you know that the end is near. This makes planning easier, because you know what your assets will be upon your passing. In contrast, planning at a younger age means that bank accounts will change or you may buy and sell houses. Knowing roughly when you might die makes it less likely that you will miss something during the trust funding process. But, even if you know that exact date and time that you will die, it's still hard to capture every asset. Also, if you are terminally ill, you may not want to spend your last moments planning your trust. Solo Ager Book Again, revocable trusts don't make a lot of sense for most situations in New York, but they do make sense for solo agers for the reasons listed above. If you want to learn more, check out my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan,” on Amazon. Or, if you fill out the form below, we're happy to send a free copy to you. Free copy of "The Solo Ager Estate Plan" Complete this form to receive your complimentary copy of Anthony's Amazon best-seller, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan”

Which offer for probate real estate is better: an experienced investor cash buyer, or an individual financed offer that's supposedly $80,000 more? In a recent case, turns out the individual offer was actually more like $30,000 (~3.5%) higher, plus tons of headaches and delays. Nitpicked during buyer's inspection Individual buyers heavily nitpick during inspections. Unlike an investor, the individual buyer is the one who will live in the house. He has a vision of how everything should be for his new home. This inspection showed some problems, some legitimate and some were very cosmetic. Note that this sale was an as-is contract. It's an estate sale; take it or leave it! At the end of the day, the buyer demanded about $20,000 worth of repairs and buyer credits. For some items, he wanted a credit so he could pay to fix it himself. The repairs that he demanded from us added months of delay to the process. Months equals money out of the estate. Not to mention all the problems that can arise from leaving a home vacant for months. If the roof leaks or a pipe bursts during that time, it is still our problem since the house hasn't officially been transferred. Cash buyers will inherit problems Cash buyers only care about big problems, except ones that affect title (such as boundary line issues or environmental problems). But cash buyers are willing to deal with cosmetic problems. Why? Because they usually tear down and rebuild, meaning they will end up fixing those problems anyway. What about large cosmetic problems? Cash buyers have experience and teams that can easily fix cosmetic items. Since they deal with this often, cash buyers are very efficient, and their repair estimates are much lower than an individual buyer who may have to negotiate with a contractor. Cash buyers close quickly It's a big deal how long the probate property sits. The longer it sits, the more risk the estate bears. Even if someone trips and falls on our sidewalk while we're waiting for a buyer, that's our problem. In probate real estate, we don't have weeks of open houses, marketing, etc. In fact, we may not even use a broker, which will save another 6% in broker's commission (in this case, about $35,000!). As discussed above, there is no negotiation for repairs with a cash buyer. Similarly, there is less likelihood that we will need to spend months making repairs. The cash buyer just wants to get the deal done, fix the real estate, flip it, and move on to their next investment. Compare this with choosing an individual buyer. The legal bill will be higher, because you will spend months working on a deal that could have been completed in a couple of weeks with a cash buyer. Instead of spending $1,000 or $2,000 for closing, it could be $5,000 or even $7,000. In conclusion: the cash buyer is still net less than the individual offer (in our case, about $30,000, or 3.5% of our deal). This estate had 4 heirs, so that comes to $7,500 each. Was it worth it the months of delays and stress to all involved in the estate? Executors in these situations have to weigh the facts and decide for themselves. Probate Real estate can be messy. To learn more about selling probate real estate, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation

Here's what I learned about bitcoin inheritance at the recent Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador (my full bitcoin inheritance presentation here). Background: (1) One year ago, El Salvador was the first country in world to make bitcoin legal tender, and (2) these conferences tend to be attended by the most hardcore bitcoiners, not so much the everyday users. How does Chivo wallet work for bitcoin inheritance? When El Salvador launched bitcoin as legal tender, that came along with a government-maintained software wallet that you can keep on your phone (called Chivo). Based on my conversations with locals and with the researcher that I hired, Chivo is by far the dominant wallet in use in El Salvador. This is unlike other parts of the world where there are at least a dozen popular wallets (hardware and software). While the rest of the world is still scattered, El Salvador has one main wallet that everyone uses. It's not like Mac vs. PC or Apple vs. Android phones (where people usually have one or the other). The Chivo wallet is highly centralized and KYC (“know your client”), which means you can't get this wallet unless it is linked to your national ID number. It is managed by a centralized entity (the government). This is the antithesis of what U.S. bitcoiners are into. One pro is that because it is centrally managed, you don't have to worry about losing your seed phrase. The government knows that the bitcoin belongs to a certain person. Another pro to this is that you can name a beneficiary on your wallet, like an IRA or life insurance. If you pass away, your heirs can theoretically call customer service. The heir would need to submit the equivalent of a death certificate, letters testamentary, and a claim form to have the bitcoin transferred to the heir's Chivo wallet. While in El Salvador, my researcher and I tested customer service for a death claim. We called a few times to get different representatives. They had no idea what to do for a dead customer. To be fair, even if you call Binance, Gemeni, or even Bank of America, they don't know what they are doing either! Salvadoran bitcoin estates data There's not much data on how it's been working, since it's only been one year. Most of the bitcoin users are on the younger side. El Salvador has a population of six million. Not many of the deaths in the past year were of younger people. Those who died were not bitcoin holders and also not using Chivo. For this reason, we weren't able to gather much information about self-custody issues or seed phrases lost, etc. Recently, Chivo enabled linking your bitcoin wallet to your legacy bank account. There's no privacy, but the point is to minimize volatility. For example, I pay my Uber driver $10, and he doesn't want to take the risk of bitcoin going up or down. He has the option to accept the bitcoin then immediately convert it to dollars. This is how the government addressed the users' fears of volatility, etc. People who need this money for daily needs want something that won't fluctuate. If users are using bitcoin like PayPal or Venmo (converting everything to dollars), there may not be many probate issues. These users aren't investing in bitcoin, rather just using bitcoin like a Venmo system. Bitcoiners are thinking about inheritance The conference in El Salvador was surprisingly well-attended: there was standing room only, but people were also sitting on the floor. There were so many other presentations cooler than bitcoin inheritance, that I thought I'd be lucky to see a dozen people. During the Q&A part, it seemed like multisig was the most popular solution. Remember, these were hardcore bitcoiners, and multisig is not a technically easy solution. Shamir's secret sharing was also a very popular solution. As you may recall, this process involves splitting up a seed phrase that's not too risky. I will look into this further and make future posts about my findings. But what about solutions for everyday users? They want to keep the bitcoin in their own custody without living in fear of catastrophic loss upon their passing. One possible solution is to have a multisig with someone who knows how to execute it, such as a professional bitcoin executor. Some other observations from my time in El Salvador: the bitcoin tourists were the ones paying with bitcoin. Vendors were reluctant to let us pay for things with bitcoin. One cabbie said he accepted bitcoin, but when I arrived at the destination, he asked for dollars because his phone wasn't working. After a little prying, I found he could open his Chivo app just fine. It seems that he didn't know he could immediately convert the bitcoin to dollars. Probate book My book, “How Probate Works,” can relate to bitcoin inheritance as well. At the conference, I handed out many free copies of the book, and people were interested. If you did not get a free copy at the workshop, you can also find my book on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

We'll discuss a recent case study of how bad neighbors can harm probate real estate sale, and how to deal with them. Bad neighbor blames estate for water leak I am the professional executor for an estate with real estate that needs to be sold. During this process, we've had a neighbor with complaints. First, the neighbor blamed our unit for a water leak. He had water damage in his unit, and he thought it was coming from us. Water damage can lead to mold issues, so we took the complaint seriously. We responded immediately and gave him access to a plumber. The real estate is in a co-op building, which, as we discussed before, are a different animal! In this situation, the co-op manager appreciated our fast response to the problem. As it turns out, the bad neighbor was blaming us for no reason. It had nothing to do with our unit, and the water issue was completely internal to his unit. Bad neighbor blames estate for insects Second, the bad neighbor blamed us for a sudden infestation of bugs in his unit. His theory was that when we cleaned out our unit, something was shaken which caused bugs to move to his unit. We took the complaint seriously again and responded by giving him access to an exterminator of his choosing. When selling probate real estate, you need to try to get along with the neighbors and building management. Getting off on the wrong foot with building management can make things very difficult for the executor. Even though we felt that the neighbor was not being truthful (as we saw no indication of bugs in our unit), we responded promptly. Again, the co-op manager appreciated our fast response to the problem. It turns out that the bad neighbor cried wolf again. The neighbor's hired exterminator was so dismissive of the neighbor's theory that he didn't even bother to spray our unit. Even though the cost of spraying would have been low, the exterminator said there was no point. Despite all of this, the bad neighbor threatened to block our probate sale by lobbying the co-op board to not allow our unit to sell. However, the co-op saw that the neighbor lied twice and that we had been cooperative throughout the process. Thankfully, we did not need to worry about the board preventing our sale. Bad neighbor sends us a “buyer” Those were the last of the complaints, but oddly enough, the bad neighbor sent us a buyer. He suggested selling to someone, so we looked into it.  The bad neighbor “vouched” for an “investor,” which is odd because investors usually don't do well with co-op rules. The buyer turned out to be an inexperienced kid (late teens, early 20s) who apparently saw on Tik Tok how to flip probate properties. The kid offered a wildly high offer, which is unlikely to actually close at that price. As we've discussed before, if a wildly high offer does go through, it's because the buyer nickel-and-dimes the price down to the asking price. This strategy is used to get the buyer's foot in the door by making an attractive offer and thus eliminating the competition. (link to E291 What is a Strong Offer on Probate Real Estate?) In this case, the heirs had been tracking the situation and understood that this buyer was recommended by the bad neighbor. Therefore, they were not bamboozled into demanding that we accept this “high” offer, like they might have been if they did not know the back-story. The bad neighbor actually helped us with this bad buyer. If we didn't know who sent him, it would have taken more time and research to know to reject the offer. This is a situation where a professional executor can help buffer and deal with curveballs. An inexperienced executor may get bullied with empty threats of blocking the sale, etc. Professional executors know what to look for and can help the heirs avoid the stress of threats. We continued to address the false alarms and adjusted our treatment of the bad neighbor accordingly. To learn how a professional executor can help you avoid probate headaches, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

After many months (maybe years), the estate is finally nearly finished. What are the final steps to close probate? We'll explain the accounting, receipt and releases, and the reserve. What is the estate accounting? The estate accounting are the full books and records of everything that has transpired during the executor's duty of administering the estate. It accounts for every dollar in and out, every asset collected and sold, and what is left over. Sometimes preparing the accounting can take a while because: It takes time to get all bank statements, records, and identify missing transactions. The documentation has to be compiled into a court-specified format, so you need a specific type of accountant or lawyer to prepare the accounting. We're not talking about the guy who prepares your 1040 or the lawyer who drafted your LLC. Unfortunately, the court requires a very niche type of format, and you must account for and balance every penny. The accounting often spans more than 1-2 years with complex transactions (stock sales, real estate closings, business sale, etc.). It is a thick stack of paper! This is the executor's opportunity to show everything he has done for the estate. This is also the opportunity for the heirs to either object to or accept the accounting. Why must heirs sign a receipt, release and refunding agreement? The heirs have the chance to review the accounting, and they can hire their own attorney to help them understand it, if they wish. If there are no objections, the heirs are asked to sign a s receipt, release, and refunding agreement. Here, we'll discuss the three elements of the agreement. Receipt The heir acknowledges receipt of the money. This seems a bit odd, since the heirs sign this BEFORE actually receiving the check. It's understandable for heirs to be nervous, but the only alternative is to hold a closing to coordinate simultaneous exchange and court filing. Otherwise, we deliver the signed receipt and release to the court and await the court's approval before distributing the money. In some contested estates, we have done closings. However, there really shouldn't be a lack of trust, because the executor is bound to the court. The court will know if the money isn't distributed as agreed upon. Also, a closing would be hard to do it the heirs do not live close by. Release The heirs agree to release the executor from any future and past liability. The heirs agree that the executor did a good enough job, and they won't sue. This is what the executor really wants; he's probably ready to put the estate behind him and move on! Refunding If any unexpected tax, debt, or bill comes up after the estate is closed, the heir agrees to pay back a portion of his inheritance, pro-rata, to cover that debt. Usually, a refund is needed due to taxes, an unpaid medical bill, or a creditor. What is a probate reserve? A probate reserve is a “rainy day fund.” Though the estate is technically closed, and the heirs agreed to refund money if needed, it's unrealistic to believe that the heirs will actually refund the estate. Say an unexpected expense comes up a year later, and every heir is supposed to return $10,000. Most heirs are going to ignore the executor's calls (yes, there will be some honorable folks). For that reason, it's better to have cash on hand (a reserve) to pay anything that pops up. Even if it seems that all the bills have been paid, it could still take a year or more for something to pop up. The reserve amount depends on how complicated the estate is, the size of the estate, and the risks involved. Usually, it's good to have at least $10,000. If the reserve is even $1,000 short of the unexpected bill, you'd still have to contact the heirs for the extra money. I've seen reserves as high as $100,000 in 7-figure estates. The reserve should be held at least a year, but even up to three years to be safe. One reason is that the IRS takes a long time to get through their backlog, so it's better to be prepared. Even if the heirs don't want to pay, the IRS bills MUST be paid. Again, the executor wouldn't close an estate if there was a large lingering liability out there. The executor works hard to get to the point where he thinks it's safe to close. Once the executor is done holding the reserve, that money gets distributed proportionately like the rest of the inheritance. Distributing the reserve is much less formal, as it is a smaller amount. Plus, the heirs may be excited to receive a little more later on. A lot of people don't know what the finish line looks like in the estate process, so hopefully this helps to better understand it. If you want to learn more, check out my book, “How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation  

How do you find the original will after someone dies? We'll cover where to search, how to get access, and what happens if you can't find the original. Did the attorney keep the original will? It is common for an attorney to hold the original will. If you have a copy of the will, the lawyer's name is usually written on it. You can look for the name on the backer, or maybe he was a witness or the notary. If you don't have a copy, check the decedent's contacts app or rolodex for any attorneys. Don't overlook the attorneys who don't do estate planning; you never know what leads you will get. You can also ask the decedent's CPA or others who may have referred the decedent to an estate planning attorney. Eventually, one of these contacts should lead to the attorney who holds the original will. New York petition to search the home If you determine that the will must be in the decedent's home, you need a court order to enter the home. Thankfully, court is pretty quick in issuing this kind of order, unless the will is contested. Typically, it shouldn't take longer than a couple weeks to get the order. When you enter the building, you must be accompanied by a police officer or building management. The reason is that an order to search the home is different than acting with full executor powers. You will be limited to searching for documents such as the will, life insurance policies, funeral arrangements, etc. If you find the documents, you must immediately turn them over to the court. The procedure for searching a safe deposit box or a storage unit is substantially the same. To enter a safe deposit box, you'll be accompanied by the bank officer. It's better for everyone involved that there are witnesses. You don't want to be accused of anything. What happens if the original of a will is lost? If can prove that the will was not in the decedent's possession when she passed, then it is possible to ask court to probate the copy. Perhaps the attorney or the CPA says they had it at the time of her passing. However, if the decedent must have had the will, the law assumes that the decedent intentionally destroyed/revoked the will. This is the legal assumption, even if it's not what really happened. In this case, you must move on with administration, which is the process in which the default inheritance laws are applied. So, do your best to find the will! If you are young and you have a will, it may not help to tell your executor where it is; you could live for many more decades. But, if you are older or terminally ill, it is a good idea to let your executor know where to find your will when you pass. To learn more, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation    

Choosing an executor can be very difficult if you feel you don't have many choices, especially if you own non-traditional assets such as Bitcoin. We previously discussed this topic, generally (https://anthonyspark.com/help-i-dont-have-an-executor-for-my-will/), but what about Bitcoin? Whether it's because your friends and family lack knowledge, or because you don't want to leave behind stress or drama, there are many reasons why so many Bitcoiners feel they don't have anyone to name as their executor. Your Family and Friends Don't Understand Bitcoin You are afraid that when you pass, they will lose your Bitcoin. They don't understand custody or any basic security protocols (OPSEC). Another worry is that your family and friends will dump it, and immediately turn it into cash. They might fall for the hype that it is bad for the environment or actively believe it's a “ponzi scheme.” Or they may just be completely clueless; never heard of Bitcoin. You Don't Want to Burden Your Bitcoin Friends Maybe you have friends in the developer/Bitcoin community who are technically savvy enough, but you're not close enough to ask them to take on this big job. Appointing an executor requires trust, and executorship is a burdensome job (lots of time and work). Besides, Bitcoin may only be a small portion of your entire estate. I'd guess that most technologically advanced folks will get SUPER frustrated by the archaic parts of probate. As we know, probate includes lots of phone calls, faxes, standing in line, all without many apps or elegant solutions. Your friend who is used to cutting edge technology probably won't want to stand in line to close your bank accounts with a physical signature. They'll be ripping their hair out and looking for a way to do it online! You Don't Want to Cause Disputes Among Your Family and Friends Even if you have family members or friends who can do the job, the rest of your heirs (who don't understand Bitcoin) may have a million questions, suspicions, and doubts. The heirs' lack of Bitcoin knowledge, compared to the executor, will breed suspicion of the executor. Your executor will probably be frustrated with the constant questions and doubts. When all the heirs and executors know each other and there is distrust, it can ruin relationships, cause resentment, and tear families apart. It's easier for a completely independent executor to weather that storm. You Can't Find a Suitable Service Most technically knowledgeable custody service providers (Casa, Unchained) have great inheritance guidance, but, to my knowledge, they don't offer executor services. Their advice is to talk to your attorney. You can also find someone like myself. Or you can look for a bank to serve as an executor. However, banks have high liquid asset requirements. Most Bitcoiners who are self-custodied probably don't trust the banks anyway... Do Any of These Situations Apply to You? If any of these situations apply to you, your best solution may be hiring a professional Bitcoin executor. Some of the benefits we offer: We have a fully staffed office available to handle all the various burdensome tasks that come with being an executor. We are focused on and committed to staying up to date on Bitcoin custody, OPSEC, and other need-to-know issues surrounding Bitcoin inheritance. Choosing an independent executor, instead of friends or family, can help prevent drama and disputes, since a professional executor is a neutral and unbiased party. We're bonded and carry malpractice insurance to cover any wrongdoing as executor. This provides an additional layer of protection you wouldn't get when working with a loved one, friend, or even a trusted financial planner or accountant. How Do You Appoint a Professional Bitcoin Executor? Name us in your will or trust Just tell your estate planning attorney that you appoint Anthony Park as executor. In most cases, using estate planning software yourself is fine, too. Next, schedule a call with me to make sure we're a good fit. Then send us a pdf copy of your fully signed will/trust so I know I've been formally nominated. After that, we will have annual check-in calls to stay in touch. Nominate Us as Executor After Someone Has Died After someone has passed away, the heirs may realize that person owned Bitcoin and they become intimated. Even if I am not named in the will or trust, there is a process for naming me post-death. It requires a little more work, but in most situations, we can work with the court and get appointed as executor even after death. The heirs can rest assured that we will now handle everything for them. In review: just because your executor knows about Bitcoin now doesn't mean they will still have knowledge of the ever-evolving process when you pass away. Even letters of instruction for your executor can become outdated fast! The best solution is to hire an independent professional executor who is committed to staying up to date on Bitcoin. Probate (can apply to Bitcoin) To learn more about executorship in general, check out my book, “How to Hire an Executor,” available on Amazon. Or you can call us and we'll be happy to speak with you. I've received more and more questions on this topic, and I am actually slated to speak at a the Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador. Hopefully, I will meet some of you down there and I'll be happy to answer your individual questions. Request your free consultation    

Is the highest offer the strongest offer? Not necessarily, especially in probate. Sometimes an heir or a co-executor believes they can get a higher offer. Then, all things being equal, we should take that offer. However, it's unusual that two offers are identical. There are other factors to take into account besides the price. 3 Fs of probate homebuyers We use the 3 Fs to make sure the buyer is a good fit for a probate real estate sale. Financials An all-cash offer is the best offer. There is always the risk of a mortgage getting denied. However, some probate properties are well-suited for a traditional mortgage situation. We also want to see a good, healthy down payment, as well as substantial post-closing funds. In other words, the buyer should have uber financial strength. Fast We need to sell fast in probate, but we won't acquiesce to a bad offer just for speed. A normal seller who doesn't like a deal can reject an offer and continue to live in the home. But for an estate, the property is vacant. So, the estate is bleeding cash every month to pay maintenance, utilities, and existing mortgage. Also, any vacant property will fall into greater disrepair, especially over the winter. One bad winter can lead to much wear and tear. If the owner is alive and living in the home, they would know about a problem and take care of it. Whereas, in a probate property, the executor will have to keep checking in and find time to deal with issues that arise. Long-sitting vacant properties will have less value due to less upkeep. Flexible An executor cannot afford the time to handhold a first-time home buyer. The buyer needs to know what they are doing throughout the process. We're busy working on the estate side of things. For example, we need to get additional court orders if the executor is bonded. We have to get special approval to sell the property, get tax waivers, get approval from the IRS to close the sale, and all sorts of other issues. Now that the buyer has met the 3 Fs, in what circumstance might we accept the lower offer? Is this probate homebuyer credible? We often get investors as buyers for probate properties. Usually, it's too much of a mess for first time home buyers or first-time renovators. We want to weed out those buyers who just watched a YouTube video on how to flip a house and are looking for a probate steal. But on the flipside, experienced investors can be a little sneaky trying to get the best deal. There are savvy investors who come in at a pretty aggressive/high offer with the goal of clearing out all the other offers. Then the savvy investor becomes the focus of the negotiation. Once they are the only ones left at the table, they start nickel and diming you down to the price of the next best offer. Will the probate home sale actually close? Even if the buyer comes in 15% higher than the next best offer, will their mortgage actually get approved at that amount? Will the co-op or HOA approve the buyer? If we are selling an artist's loft in Soho, and the buyer is completely unrelated to the fit and culture, they could get rejected. In New York, you can be rejected from buying a co-op for almost any reason except being a protected class under anti-discrimination laws. Again, savvy investors may make the highest offer, but when they can't get it negotiated down to their liking, they will bail. This does not mean that you will get to keep their down payment; they will just litigate. It's not like a traditional buyer whose eggs are all in that basket. These investors have money to let things sit for a few months while they sue you. We avoid those buyers like the plague, because we do not need probate held up and the property still sitting vacant. Sometimes, an offer is too good to be true. We know enough to see the red flags. Naturally, clients want to know why we may not accept the highest offer. We have to explain carefully to our clients that these types of deals will not close at that offer number. If you want to learn more about how probate works in general, check out my book, "How Probate Works,” available on Amazon. Request your free consultation