Executor First 90 Days™
Secure the estate, establish legal authority, inventory assets, control debts and taxes, preserve benefits and income records, and build a clean path to distribution. Executor First 90 Days™ is an evidence-first administration system for the person facing a death and needing to act without letting urgency, family pressure, or incomplete authority create irreversible mistakes.
Build an estate file another fiduciary or professional can review without reconstructing the story.
Separate being named in a will from having court authority, secure property and records, identify probate and nonprobate assets, preserve creditor and tax deadlines, maintain a clean ledger, and delay distributions until the controlling authority and accounting are clear.
Know who can act before acting for the estate.
Locate the original will and trust, obtain death certificates, understand Letters Testamentary or Administration where required, separate executor, administrator, personal representative, trustee, and agent roles, and use qualified attorney, accountant, or appraiser support when the issue exceeds the executor’s authority.
Secure property, records, assets, and deadlines.
Protect residences, vehicles, valuables, mail, identity, pets and dependents; inventory bank, brokerage, retirement, real-estate, business, and digital assets; and preserve a chain of custody and record before accounts are closed or property moves.
Handle claims, taxes, benefits, and distribution in the right order.
Track creditor notices, secured and consumer debt, medical bills, final income-tax records, estate EIN and income-tax questions, Social Security and insurance notifications, employer or veterans benefits, income streams, accounting, receipts, releases, and final closeout.
A practical first-90-days operating system for authority, property, assets, claims, taxes, and distribution.
Authority & Estate Security
Executor status, original estate documents, death certificates, court authority, professional roles, residence and titled-property security, cash and valuables, mail and identity protection, pets, dependents, and the records that should exist before estate property moves.
Assets, Debts, Taxes & Benefits
Financial accounts, retirement assets, real estate, business interests, digital assets, creditor notice, cards and secured debt, medical bills, final Form 1040 or 1040-SR, estate EIN, Form 1041 questions, estate-tax versus estate-income-tax distinctions, executor liability, life insurance, employer and veterans benefits, and income streams.
Distribution, Closeout & 90-Day Field Tools
Specific and residuary distributions, executor accounting, receipts and releases, account closeout, Authority Tracker, First 24-Hour Action Sheet, Asset Inventory, Creditor Response Log, Tax File Checklist, Beneficiary Communication Log, and a 90-Day Deadline Calendar.
Being named in estate documents is not always the same as having authority to act.
This guide is educational and operational, not individualized legal, tax, probate, appraisal, investment, or financial advice. Probate procedure, creditor rights, fiduciary duties, taxes, title, beneficiary designations, and distribution requirements vary by jurisdiction and estate. Use the controlling court and statutory authority and qualified professionals before consequential transfers, payments, filings, or distributions.
Establish. Secure. Inventory. Calendar. Reconcile.
Start with authority and the original estate documents. Secure property and records, build the asset and debt inventory, separate probate from nonprobate systems, calendar creditor and tax deadlines, keep a transaction ledger and decision chronology, then reconcile any distribution against the authorized final accounting before closing the file.
