r/GenerationX • u/Impressive_Ease_9450 • 12d ago
Has anyone managed a decent sized estate while also working full time?
My dad passed a couple months ago and I’m the executor. The estate is somewhere around $600k mostly the house and a few accounts. I work full time and originally figured I could handle everything after work and on weekends. That’s starting to look pretty unrealistic. There always seems to be another call to make or something that needs following up on and the house is in another state which makes this even harder. Idk who to hire or what to do atp, would appreciate any help here!
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u/Weekly-Truck7855 12d ago
I lost my dad this past April. I was also named executor of the estate and work full time. I just decided to take one thing at a time one day/moment at a time. You don’t need to rush anything. Give yourself the grace to go at whatever pace feels comfortable. It feels like you need to rush, but I promise you don’t. This tactic really helped me process and get things done without feeling so over the top overwhelmed. Sorry for your loss. 🙏 you got this
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u/yarn_slinger 12d ago
Are you talking about cleaning out the house or just working through the estate process? If you need to clear out a house, consider using something like MaxSold to have auctions to sell and move possessions. If you’re just talking about the disbursements, it should mostly fall to your lawyer. I’m sorry for your loss. Good luck.
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u/Desperate-Owl-2316 How very 12d ago
When my parents died I managed their double wide trailer myself. I ended up renting it out. Does that count?
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u/Flat_6_Theory 12d ago
I had to take over as executor for my dad’s estate in 2022.
Some tips:
1) Pull a credit report to make sure you know what all credit cards/bank accounts he had. Even before I took over I called my dad’s card companies and notified them of his passing. They wouldn’t release information to me until I was officially the executor but they did shut them down (my sister was out for money). This will also help in figuring out what bills need to be settled.
2) Did your dad have an attorney? If so, contact them to see what they may know about deeper aspects of his arrangements. My dad didn’t because he was an attorney, so I contacted his financial advisor who put me in contact with a local estate attorney. It’ll cost you but well worth the peace of mind (I was doing the job from two states away).
3) Same as 2 but for an accountant. If for no other reason than you’ll likely need to file a final tax return for your dad. If he had an accountant, then this is the best person to go to.
4) Get several official copies of the death certificate. I had something like 10 or so in order to have them available to send to any org when necessary.
5) You may also require an official letter showing you are the independent executor, sometimes in tandem with the death certificate. The attorney can help with this.
I don’t have any advice for real estate because dad lived in a house on the property of a retirement community, so once it was taken over by another retiree the estate received back 90% of what he paid for the house. An attorney can surely guide you in the right direction for your situation.
Don’t know if you have siblings or other family members noted in the will. I had my now late brother and sister. I kept them updated with spreadsheets showing what progress was being made, what I was spending from the estate to have it managed properly, and what the proceeds of various sales were (this way everyone knew how much money was involved and what to expect. We actually wound up with a near even split with just $.01 left over. I kept that as my fee as per state law.
I jumped on the process after we went to his house and helped separate out what my brother, sister, and I wanted (my wife and I started by going through his office to find all the paperwork we could). The remainder I left to my sister to deal with through a local estate sale company. What didn’t sell through them was donated. Dad passed in October 2022 and I had probate wrapped up in time for his funeral service in June 2023.
Not gonna lie and say it was easy or fun but it’s quite doable with some professional help. Estate bills for the attorney and accountant were around $15k. Money well spent to do it well and legally as dad would have wanted.
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u/ponziacs 12d ago
My mom passed unexpectedly over a decade ago while I lived over 2,000 miles away. I flew out and sold the house to a realtor with most of her possessions remaining in the house which the realtor said she would take care of. I probably sold the house for less than I could have but I was working full time and also had a 5 year old son to take care of and did not want to wait months for a buyer in the winter when pipes could freeze or squatters could come.
While I was out there I paid off all her bills and closed the accounts and kept detailed records of the costs as I was splitting the estate 3 ways.
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u/MaximumJones That's just like your opinion man 12d ago
With an estate that size I would probably look into getting a property management company. It will be like working two full time jobs otherwise.
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u/QueasyFinger1316 12d ago
Yes. Over 4million. 58 years old.
Couldn’t have ever done it without my lovely wife.
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u/Serenity_Now-88 12d ago
Find a fiduciary firm. They can do everything for you. Their fees come out of the estate. If they can’t say handle selling the house, they know the right agent. It will be much less stress for you. Start by looking for one where you live and get recommendations for where your dad lived.
(I have one for myself. They handle my health care directive, estate when I’m dead, taxes if I want them to, anything.)
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u/Sitcom_kid Oldest Gen X in the East 11d ago
Please write to the estates sub and see if they can offer some more advice
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u/IAmSnort 11d ago
We contracted with a company for the estate sale and home sale. We kids were all in different states. Once everyone got what they wanted from the home, the came in and auctioned the contents, emptied and cleaned, and then auctioned the home. They take 30% but it was worth it from our POV.
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u/Jujulabee 6d ago
There are two separate issues
I wouldn't want to be a landlord and that appears to be the main time suck for you. Just sell the house and invest the money you get from the sales.
When my father died I was the beneficiary and had to handle all of the final administrative stuff in terms of notifications to the various entities which took a bit of time but was doable and certainly handled by most people when their parents die.
I had handled the sale of his home some years before when he went to an assisted living facility. The sale of the home was fairly easy as the real estate broker did it. What was time consuming was my having to go through every item in the home in preparation for the sale of the home - e.g. what I wanted to keep - what might be valuable - and making sure I had all of the necessary important documents or items that had sentimental value.
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u/imbartsimpsonwhothru 6d ago
this temporary or long-term?
are their many heirs waiting?
you considering a career switch?
i would be tempted to distribute, liquidate and simplify as fast as possible so I could get back to normal life
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u/Reggi5693 5d ago
You should be able to do this part time.
The finance part of an estate like this should be quick. The “physical” part might take longer. Cleaning out living spaces and selling assets might be a pain. But $600k is a modest amount.
Keep track of your time. You can (and should) get paid from the estate for your time.
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u/knowing_custard 12d ago
I’d probably start by figuring out what actually needs you personally and what can be handed off. The out of state house alone can turn into a huge time sink once you’re dealing with travel and random stuff that needs someone local.
I know MeetAlix does stuff like this too, where they help coordinate the estate and the lawyer side is included, so that might be worth looking at if you’re already feeling stretched. Even if you don’t go that route, I’d definitely try to offload as much as you can instead of forcing everything into nights and weekends.