Dear Estate Trustee

From time to time, I have to sit at the reception area at the office.  Recently, I came across a nervous Estate Trustee.  This person did not feel comfortable to speak with me or felt that I could provide the "right" answers.

This is my open letter to any Estate Trustee dealing with the Estate of a Deceased Person.

Dear Estate Trustee,

Before you present yourself as an Estate Trustee, first proudly say that you are the Estate Trustee!  The deceased person may have appointed you to be the Estate Trustee but you are allowed to say no.

The will of the deceased is the first paperwork to let living people know that the wish of the deceased is to have you as their estate trustee.

All documents that follows, stems from that will.  I believe the first document that comes from the lawyers office is that you have accepted your appointment and that someone has reviewed the will with you so that you are more comfortable when presenting yourself again as an Estate Trustee.

If you are an Estate Trustee and have already gone to a lawyer's office and are now heading out to the institution that helped the deceased manage his or her assets, just states simply that, the deceased has passed away and you are the estate trustee and tthen show them your paperwork.  If for whatever reason, they say you do not have proper authorization, calmly tell them "are you sure? Because I already went to a lawyer's office and they told me this should be enough, what is missing?".

You could be dealing with someone who is unfamiliar in which case you don't want to waste time and make sure you are dealing with someone who is experienced and will not sent you off on a wild goose chase for some paperwork that you don't need.

If a bank need additional information from you, it might be some internal form for their own records which may be very simple for you to complete as an Estate Trustee.

I hope you find this helpful.

Xoxo

The occasional receptionist