As the executor it may become your duty to ascertain whether or not the decedent had any ownership in a business. If so, you are going to need to determine the value of that business. This can be done easily by checking the decedent’s tax returns. Then you will need to determine the type of business before it can be valued and administered.

Businesses can be set up in a variety of different ways. Some of the most common types are sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, or C corporations. Each one of these types comes with a different set of rules as to how they can be valued and administered. Some of them may have automatic buy back provisions for stocks owned by the decedent upon death and some may not. So it is important to contact someone at those companies immediately if there is the possibility of cashed stocks becoming part of the estate assets.

The quicker you can locate and list business relationships the faster and easier the administration process is going to be.

Hiring a professional Estate Administration Lawyer can help you navigate the different requirements, provisions, and tax implications for these kinds of businesses.

*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.