Personal Representative

Five Things To Do When a Loved One Passes Away

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Dealing with the death of a loved one is a challenging and emotional process. Whether the passing was expected or unexpected, managing their affairs can be difficult to think about while dealing with the grief and loss of a loved one, and you may need guidance throughout the process. Here are five things you should consider doing after a loved one’s death:

1. Arrange Burial and Memorial Services According to the Loved One’s Wishes

If the deceased was forward-thinking enough to pre-arrange and/or pre-pay their funeral when also preparing their estate plan, then contact the funeral home with which these arrangements were made.  If no plan was put in place before death, contact a reputable funeral home to guide you through the burial and memorial service process.  

As part of an estate plan, the deceased may have prepared a Directive as to Remains.  A Directive as to Remains is a document that instructs the deceased’s Personal Representative (the person named in the Will who is responsible for administering the estate) to arrange the deceased’s burial or cremation and funeral/memorial services as directed in that document. Your loved one alternatively may have written down similar wishes in a letter of instruction. Carefully review your loved one’s estate planning documents to learn if the deceased left such instructions so that his or her wishes are carried out.

2. Find and Organize Important Documents

Hopefully your loved one showed you where they keep important documents like their Will, income tax returns, financial account statements, and bills that are regularly paid. This information will be necessary for settling and administering the deceased’s estate. Look for these documents and gather as much information as you can. 

If the deceased named you as the Personal Representative of their estate, then you will need death certificates for the deceased. You should obtain about 5 to 10 death certificates to provide to financial institutions, life insurance companies, and the court if probate is necessary.

Locate a safe but easily accessible place where you can store this information as you will refer to and use it often.  Do not throw away any financial records or legal documents until you know you will not need them for tax filings, asset valuation, or other purposes.

3. Secure Property of the Estate

Your loved one may have several different types of assets in their estate at death. In every case, the Personal Representative (or Trustee if there is a Trust) is responsible for ensuring the deceased’s property is secure and protected for the beneficiaries of the estate. For example, it is important to safely store valuable jewelry and artwork. Similarly, any real estate should be securely locked (perhaps even change the locks) and regularly visited to ensure the real estate and the deceased’s personal belongings are secure. In fact, it is an obligation of the Personal Representative to do so, and they may be liable if such measures are not taken and damage occurs to the property. The Personal Representative should also maintain or obtain insurance in connection with the deceased’s assets, as necessary, and may need to have some or all of them appraised for estate administration and/or estate tax purposes.

4. Contact an Estate Planning and Administration Attorney

The settlement of an estate can be incredibly complex depending on the assets and beneficiaries involved, and the provisions of the deceased’s estate plan. The Personal Representative should contact an attorney to guide and assist them through the process of completing and filing the required documents to be appointed as Personal Representative by the probate court, gathering assets, paying appropriate expenses, and making distributions, to avoid failing to fulfill their obligations. This is especially important if the estate assets are valued at over $2 million and a Massachusetts estate tax will be payable, or if it is anticipated that MassHealth (Medicaid) may file a claim against the estate to be reimbursed for any MassHealth benefits (for home care or nursing home care) received by the deceased during their lifetime.

Keep in mind that the administration of an estate typically takes at least one year, so you may want to take the tortoise’s point of view – slow and steady wins the race. You want to be thorough and properly navigate the legal and financial aspects associated with administering the estate.

5. Communicate and Work Together

On top of the issues mentioned above, estate administration can be made more difficult if there are strained relationships between the beneficiaries, which often also includes the person who is serving as Personal Representative. Perhaps there is a history of family disharmony. Perhaps multiple beneficiaries are sentimentally attached to mom’s diamond engagement ring and they must decide who gets to keep it.  The only person who wins when there are disagreements between beneficiaries that cannot be resolved is the attorney who gets paid to resolve them via negotiation or court action.  Instead, consider embracing the three C’s as much as possible when working with each other: Communication, Cooperation and Compromise. Try offering support to each other during this difficult time.

Estate administration can be a juggling act where the Personal Representative is managing several different responsibilities all at once, including fulfilling the wishes of the deceased and the Personal Representative’s obligations to the beneficiaries. An estate planning attorney knowledgeable in the process of estate administration can guide you through that process in a correct and efficient manner so that you have peace of mind when all is complete—hopefully with family relationships intact, which is most likely what your loved one would have wanted when setting up their estate plan.

Attorney Brittany Hinojosa Citron is a senior associate attorney at Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and trust administration. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information or to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please call 781-461-1020. 

October 2025

© 2025 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

 

Lawyers Are Expensive – So Why Do I Need One?

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It’s no secret: lawyers can be costly. So it’s understandable that many people wonder if they really need one – especially when it comes to estate planning, probate, or administering a trust after someone dies. But here’s the reality: while lawyers may seem expensive upfront, the right lawyer can save you time, stress, and potentially much more money down the line. 

If you’ve been named as a Personal Representative of a Will or Trustee of a Trust, you’ve been placed in a fiduciary role – which means that you’re legally obligated to act in the best interest of someone else. It’s not just a matter of paying some bills and distributing assets. You have real legal responsibilities and can be personally liable for mistakes.

Common pitfalls include:

  • Misinterpreting the terms of a trust or will
  • Missing important deadlines for tax filings or creditor notifications
  • Failing to properly account for funds
  • Making distributions too early, or in the wrong amounts
  • Mishandling assets or overlooking the need for court filings

Even innocent errors can result in disputes with beneficiaries or, worse, lawsuits. A skilled attorney helps you avoid these risks, providing clear guidance tailored to your specific duties and the laws of your state.

So how do you choose a lawyer?

Not all lawyers are created equal. Many attorneys market themselves as estate planners, focusing on drafting wills, trusts, and other planning documents. That’s an essential skillset — but not the only one you should look for.

If you’re choosing someone to help create your estate plan (or to guide you in a fiduciary role), look for an attorney who also handles estate and trust administration. Why? Because they bring a practical, experience-based perspective to the process.

An attorney who has seen how trusts and estates play out after death will draft better documents during life. They’ll know which provisions cause confusion, which funding methods lead to delays, and how to structure things to make life easier for your future Personal Representative or Trustee. They won’t just give you a binder full of documents — they’ll give you a roadmap to making it all work.

This insight can be the difference between an orderly, efficient estate process and one bogged down in costly delays, court involvement, or family conflict.

Legal documents often look good on paper. But the true test of an estate plan is how it functions in real life. An experienced attorney brings something critical to the table: the ability to distinguish between what’s technically legal and what actually works.

Let’s be honest: experienced lawyers aren’t cheap. But there’s a reason for that. You’re not just paying for documents or court filings – you’re paying for peace of mind.

A well-qualified attorney not only ensures that your documents are legally sound and tailored to your goals, but also that your Trust is properly funded, your fiduciary responsibilities are clearly defined and as easy as possible to carry out, and that potential risks are identified and addressed before they become costly issues. In essence, the right lawyer prevents a situation in which your loved ones are left to “just figure it out” after you’re gone.

If you’re taking on the responsibility of a fiduciary – or planning your own estate – investing in the right legal guidance now can prevent much greater expense (and heartache) later.

Bottom line: You don’t just need a lawyer – you need the right lawyer. One with real-world experience in both planning and administration. One who knows how things go wrong, and how to get them right. One who sees beyond the theory and helps you plan for real life. Yes, it may cost more upfront. But in the long run, it’s one of the best investments you can make – for yourself and for those you care about.

Five Things To Do When a Loved One Passes Away

by

Dealing with the death of a loved one is a challenging and emotional process. Whether the passing was expected or unexpected, managing his or her affairs can be difficult to think about while dealing with the grief and loss of a loved one, and you may need guidance throughout the process. Here are five things you should consider doing after a loved one’s death:

1. Arrange Burial and Memorial Services According to the Loved One’s Wishes

If the deceased was forward-thinking enough to pre-arrange and/or pre-pay his or her funeral when also preparing his or her estate plan, then contact the funeral home with which these arrangements were made. If no plan was put in place before death, contact a reputable funeral home to guide you through the burial and memorial service process.

As part of an estate plan, the deceased may have prepared a Directive as to Remains. A Directive as to Remains is a document that instructs the deceased’s Personal Representative (the person named in the Will who is responsible for administering the estate) to arrange the deceased’s burial or cremation and funeral/memorial services as directed in that document. Your loved one alternatively may have written down similar wishes in a letter of instruction. Carefully review your loved one’s estate planning documents to learn if the deceased left such instructions so that his or her wishes are carried out.

2. Find and Organize Important Documents

Hopefully your loved one showed you where he or she keeps important documents like his or her Will, income tax returns, financial account statements, and bills that are regularly paid. This information will be necessary for settling and administering the deceased’s estate. Look for these documents and gather as much information as you can.

If the deceased named you as the Personal Representative of his or her estate, then you will need death certificates for the deceased. You should obtain about 5 to 10 death certificates to provide to financial institutions, life insurance companies, and the court if probate is necessary.

Locate a safe but easily accessible place where you can store this information as you will refer to and use it often. Do not throw away any financial records or legal documents until you know you will not need them for tax filings, asset valuation, or other purposes.

3. Secure Property of the Estate

Your loved one may have several different types of assets in his or her estate at death. In every case, the Personal Representative (or Trustee if there is a Trust) is responsible for ensuring the deceased’s property is secure and protected for the beneficiaries of the estate. For example, it is important to safely store valuable jewelry and artwork. Similarly, any real estate should be securely locked (perhaps even change the locks) and regularly visited to ensure the real estate and the deceased’s personal belongings are secure. In fact, it is an obligation of the Personal Representative to do so, and he or she may be liable if such measures are not taken and damage occurs to the property. The Personal Representative should also maintain or obtain insurance in connection with the deceased’s assets, as necessary, and may need to have some or all of them appraised for estate administration and/or estate tax purposes.

4. Contact an Estate Planning and Administration Attorney

The settlement of an estate can be incredibly complex depending on the assets and beneficiaries involved, and the provisions of the deceased’s estate plan. The Personal Representative should contact an attorney to guide and assist him or her through the process of completing and filing the required documents to be appointed as Personal Representative by the probate court, gathering assets, paying appropriate expenses, and making distributions, to avoid failing to fulfill his or her obligations. This is especially important if the estate assets are valued at over $2 million and a Massachusetts estate tax will be payable, or if it is anticipated that MassHealth (Medicaid) may file a claim against the estate to be reimbursed for any MassHealth benefits (for home care or nursing home care) received by the deceased during his or her lifetime.

Keep in mind that the administration of an estate typically takes at least one year, so you may want to take the tortoise’s point of view – slow and steady wins the race. You want to be thorough and properly navigate the legal and financial aspects associated with administering the estate.

5. Communicate and Work Together

On top of the issues mentioned above, estate administration can be made more difficult if there are strained relationships between the beneficiaries, which often also includes the person who is serving as Personal Representative. Perhaps there is a history of family disharmony. Perhaps multiple beneficiaries are sentimentally attached to mom’s diamond engagement ring and they must decide who gets to keep it. The only person who wins when there are disagreements between beneficiaries that cannot be resolved is the attorney who gets paid to resolve them via negotiation or court action. Instead, consider embracing the three C’s as much as possible when working with each other: Communication, Cooperation and Compromise. Try offering support to each other during this difficult time.

Estate administration can be a juggling act where the Personal Representative is managing several different responsibilities all at once, including fulfilling the wishes of the deceased and the Personal Representative’s obligations to the beneficiaries. An estate planning attorney knowledgeable in the process of estate administration can guide you through that process in a correct and efficient manner so that you have peace of mind when all is complete—hopefully with family relationships intact, which is most likely what your loved one would have wanted when setting up his or her estate plan.

Attorney Brittany Hinojosa Citron is an associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information or to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please call 781-461-1020.

February 2024

© 2024 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

 

 

What Are Five Duties of a Probate Estate’s Personal Representative?

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By Abigail V. Poole. Esq.

Sometimes I like to think of administering a probate estate as similar to investigating and solving a mystery.  The Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor) of the estate is the Detective. The Personal Representative takes steps to administer the estate by accessing and consolidating estate assets much like a Detective discovers clues and pieces them together one at a time to solve a mystery. Simultaneously, the Personal Representative keeps in mind certain duties while performing these tasks due to his or her fiduciary position much like a Detective who follows the laws while investigating the mystery. Here are five duties the Personal Representative must obey while “solving the mystery” of probate administration.

  • Follow Directions 

The Personal Representative’s most important overall duty is to follow the directions left in the deceased’s Last Will and Testament and the relevant Massachusetts laws.  The Will works hand-in-hand with the laws; it must be filed with the probate court, which approves the appointment of the Personal Representative. If the deceased did not leave a Will expressing the deceased’s intentions, then the intestate laws of Massachusetts govern the estate administration. 

The Personal Representative is also duty-bound to administer the probate estate expeditiously and efficiently in a way that is consistent with the best interests of the estate. For example, if the deceased possessed an expensive diamond necklace at the time of her death and she stated in her Will that the necklace should be distributed to her daughter, then it is the Personal Representative’s responsibility to do so.  However, if the diamond necklace is the only valuable asset and the estate has significant expenses and debt, then the Personal Representative may need to sell the diamond necklace to pay the estate expenses and debt instead of distributing the necklace.

  • Be Loyal and Prudent

The Personal Representative has a duty of loyalty.  The Personal Representative’s actions must be impartial toward all the parties involved (i.e., he or she cannot favor one party above another unless directed by the law or Will). The Personal Representative is also obligated to administer the estate with care and prudence by protecting the interests of the estate and administering the estate for the benefit of all the beneficiaries (the ultimate recipients of the estate distributions). Oftentimes, at the beginning of the probate process the Personal Representative may not have accurate information about all the assets owned by the deceased at the time of death. This means there may be valuable assets discovered after the Personal Representative’s appointment. In the case of the diamond necklace, it would be prudent of the Personal Representative to refrain from distributing or selling the diamond necklace until all the assets are discovered and weighed against the anticipated estate expenses and debt.

  • Find the Assets

The Personal Representative must investigate, determine, collect and inventory all the estate assets after appointment. Typically, an estate bank account is opened to consolidate and retain the balances from the deceased’s individual bank accounts. The Personal Representative is responsible for determining the value of the assets as of the deceased’s date of death. With respect to the diamond necklace, the Personal Representative should have it appraised to determine its value in the event it needs to be sold to pay the estate expenses and to include on the estate inventory. The inventory is a list of all the assets of the estate and their values that will be provided to the probate court or beneficiaries.

The Personal Representative is obligated to collect the income, interest and refunds due to the deceased or the estate, and dividends from stock. 

  • Protect the Assets and Pay the Expenses

The Personal Representative has a duty to secure, safeguard and manage the estate assets.  The diamond necklace should be securely stored until a decision is made to distribute or sell it, and insurance maintained for it, as necessary. The Personal Representative is responsible for collecting payments on any outstanding loans due to the deceased’s estate.

The Personal Representative must also pay estate expenses, such as funeral costs, fees to file assorted tax returns, and the fees of professionals to accomplish these goals (e.g., accountant, attorney, jewelry appraiser). If there is outstanding debt, such as a mortgage, credit card or Medicaid claim, the Personal Representative must prioritize payment of the debt according to the laws.

A crucial responsibility of the Personal Representative is to track all the income and expenditures of the estate. These records will assist the Personal Representative with making decisions regarding payment of expenses and debt during the administration of the estate.  It will also demonstrate to the beneficiaries and the probate court that the Personal Representative administered the estate properly via an account (report).

  • Distribute the Assets

The final obligation of the Personal Representative is to distribute the remaining probate assets to the beneficiaries as directed in the Will or by law. Luckily, the Personal Representative discovered other assets to cover the estate expenses so the diamond necklace was distributed to a grateful daughter.

Every good Detective has a partner to help solve the mystery.  Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC can partner with you to find, protect and distribute the probate assets in accordance with the deceased’s instructions or the laws. Our attorneys are dedicated to guiding you through the probate administration process to ensure you adhere to your duties as the Personal Representative to successfully complete settling the estate.

Attorney Abigail V. Poole is an associate attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and elder law matters. She is an active member and Vice President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).  This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit www.ssbllc.com or call 781/461-1020. 

June, 2021

© 2021 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

 

A Panoramic Primer on Probate: Part Two –  Marshalling Assets

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Upon receipt from the Court of the Letters of Authority appointing a person as Personal Representative (PR) of the decedent’s estate in an informal or formal probate, the PR has the authority to begin taking action with regard to the assets of the estate. These “probate assets” (owned in the decedent’s individual name which do not designate a beneficiary or co-owner) may consist of bank accounts, investment accounts, stock, savings bonds, tangible personal property (furniture, jewelry or a vehicle), and real estate. This article explores the initial steps to be taken by the PR to administer typical probate assets. The process of collecting the probate assets is known as “marshalling the assets.”

Investigate Financial Accounts and Other Assets

A PR’s first step is to investigate and determine the assets of the estate by reviewing the deceased’s files, mail and tax returns, and contacting an estate planning attorney with whom the decedent may have worked. The PR should contact the estate attorney who will guide the PR through the steps necessary to access each asset.

The PR should take steps to identify and safeguard the tangible personal property of the decedent. Some items require special treatment due to their nature. For example, firearms must be handled according to Massachusetts laws.  If the decedent owned a vehicle, the PR should maintain appropriate insurance on the vehicle prior to the distribution, transfer, or sale of the vehicle according to the wishes of the decedent.

Consolidate and Manage Financial Accounts and Other Assets

Once the PR has identified the financial assets, the PR often will consolidate cash assets into one estate account from which the expenses of the estate can be paid.

It is crucial that the PR keep detailed records. The records should include the assets in existence when the decedent died (and those that the PR learns no longer exist), their values, and the actions the PR takes with respect to each asset. Funds deposited in the estate account should be recorded along with estate expenditures such as bank account fees, legal expenses, real estate maintenance or cleaning fees, etc. Keeping detailed records from the beginning of the estate settlement process will assist the PR with the subsequent steps to complete settlement of the estate.

Each estate probate is unique. The assets differ, the family dynamics vary, and the wishes of the decedent must be followed. An experienced estate attorney will provide guidance that best suits the PR’s needs and the estate in question.

The next article will address the distribution of real estate through probate.

April, 2018

© 2018 Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC

Wills • Trusts • Elder Law • Long-Term Care Planning • Estates

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