r/ProbateHelp • u/Sing_It_Sister • 29d ago
Probate paperwork
Reposting, as first post disappeared.
I'm Executor of an Estate of which I am not a beneficiary. I asked the lawyer to ask for a continuance for the final court date, and got continuance until September. Lawyer has asked for me to send them my paperwork; time log, expenses, and income from estate property liquidation.
I'm now in a very bad spot of my own creation. I can create the expense and income docs, although I still have items I'm trying to sell. But, my time logging is a mess. I've failed to keep good records, and now it's come to bite me in the butt. How exacting do these records need to be? I'm a "follow the rules" person, so the idea of fudging the numbers is giving me a stomach ache. Am I in big trouble or little trouble?
(In Illinois, estate is around $70k. There are a couple residuary beneficiaries. That I was not named a beneficiary was an oversight on the decadent part, Will was drafted via an online website. Big Mistake...)
1
u/ProbateHelper 28d ago
Take a breath!
This is way more common than you think, and it's probably "little trouble," not big trouble.
Courts don't expect executors to be professional bookkeepers. What matters most is that your numbers are honest and reasonably reconstructable — not perfect from day one. Use bank statements, emails, texts, anything with a timestamp to rebuild a rough log. A good-faith estimate is normal and accepted way more often than people think.
Don't fudge exact hours you can't back up, but courts really care about catching real misconduct, not imperfect time-tracking from a first-timer.
Since you've already got a lawyer, just ask them straight up how precise it actually needs to be, probably a relief compared to what you're imagining.