It will fall to your personal representative or your executor to gather all of the assets inside your estate and compare them with any debts or claims from creditors. This information is used to process your estate administration as your estate goes through probate. You can make things easier for your executor by doing some advanced work of gathering a list of all of your assets.
Gathering the list of assets will also help you to create an inventory for the purposes of estate planning, so that you can crosscheck that you have incorporated all of the most important materials in the estate planning process. Likewise, you can assemble a list of debts for the same purpose.
Any open credit cards, mortgages, car loans, home equity lines of credit and any other debts you have, personal or business, should be considered. Within this inventory, you will want to include account numbers, the location of signed agreements and the contact details for any companies holding that debt.
It’s also a good idea to run a free credit report a minimum of once a year which will help you ensure that the list that you have is accurate with regard to how many credit cards you have open. For more information about creating a holistic estate plan, schedule a time to speak with an experienced and dedicated lawyer. If you are ready to put together or update your NYC estate plan, our office can help you schedule an initial meeting.