The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2024

_. One of your fairly early tasks will be the creation of the inventory and appraisement. This is essentially just a list of assets belonging to the estate and their corre sponding values. The entries are usually quite simple. For example: 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan in good condition, $_ (insert the value you research online or from some one quite knowledgeable in vehicle values); or checking account at First State Bank with account number *1234, $9,423.15. _. Occasionally, the personal representatives will use a report of an estate sale as part of the inventory and accounting if the company that conducts the sale keeps detailed records of items sold and the price received. (Whether to hold an estate sale is largely dependent on the personal property available if family members first receive items.) _. Consider carefully the wisdom of allowing the heirs and beneficiaries the first opportunity to shop at the estate sale. If little brother thinks the sofa was underpriced, maybe he will just buy it rather than cause a ruckus. It is also possible, with a little plan ning, to allow heirs/beneficiaries to bid at an estate auction using funds they have not yet inherited, but this does require some serious paperwork and coordi nation and usually calls for the heir to pay at least the sales tax due. (Yes, sales tax is due on an estate sale.) _. Take great care in identifying all the names under which the deceased person has done business so that you will be able to assist your probate attorney in providing clear title and administering all assets . This is sometimes more problematic with those who have been married more than once. It is also an issue for those of us who do not generally use our first name in our busi ness affairs, and yet, the government and some busi nesses still insist that we do certain transactions using our first names. Therefore, it is important to list all the names used by the decedent during their lifetime unless it was so many years ago that there is no reasonable possibility that there are any business matters in that name. I recommend you default on the side of listing all the names, even if you’re not confident they are useful. _. Be sure to investigate all contracts the decedent may have. Please keep in mind that some of these contracts might be just a few dollars a month for a cell phone, internet service, an alarm system and so forth. Be sure you provide all of these to the probate attorney as soon as reasonably possible.

_. You will likely need to terminate some ongoing services the decedent had been paying for. For exam ple, you may want to turn off the cell phone, but even if you do, I suggest you keep the cell phone and keep it charged, as there may be important personal infor mation on the phone, and it may be information that cannot easily be found somewhere else. Please note that if the decedent had a house and household goods, it may be wise not to terminate the alarm system contract or the monitoring; however, you likely need to change the alarm codes to ensure that only the peo ple authorized to represent the estate will have access to the house and the valuables therein. _. Identify all insurance held in the decedent’s name. Life insurance is an obvious one to look for. You can often find insurance policies by looking backward over the previous years of bank transactions. If you find an insurance company notated there, you should inves tigate. Watch for automobile insurance. If the decedent owned an automobile, you will want to keep it insured until it is passed on to the beneficiary or sold. The same would apply to boats, vacation homes and many more such items. In fact, you may not even know to look for the watercraft until you find the policy that has been insuring it, so watch these issues very carefully. _. It is very important that you determine whether the house or houses of the decedent are insured. If they are insured, you probably need to notify the insurance company that the decedent has passed away and that you are the personal representative of the estate. This will probably require some changes in the policy. Unfortunately, it may also require some additional insurance premiums. But it’s better to pay the premiums than to have a claim denied because you failed to keep the insurance company updated. _. Keep the house secured! You may need to change the locks and the alarm codes, and you may even need to have the windows and doors secured with plywood to stop burglars and others from enter ing the property and spoiling it. Another way you can help secure the property, especially if it is in an urban neighborhood, is by reaching out to the neighbors and asking them to watch for any activity – give them your telephone number so they can reach out to you if they see something that seems to call for intervention (after they call the police, perhaps).

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

NOVEMBER 2024 | 27

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL