How to Deal With A Death in the Family and Still Run Your Small Business

Home
>
Dealing with Grief & Loss
>
How to Deal With A Death in the Family and Still Run Your Small Business

How to Deal With A Death in the Family and Still Run Your Small Business

As a small business owner we have to deal with tax law changes, local ordinances, environmental laws, Worker's Compensation, etc. Just when we thought we had everything under control, something terrible happenes. A death in the family. Oh my God you say? What do I do now? Well since I have been there, let me tell you what you need to know.

When someone close died in my life, I plunged immediately into an unfamiliar state of emotion, frustration, anxiety and grief. Needless to say, I wasn't any good to my business. I couldn't make decisions and was totally helpless not knowing what to do. After talking to financial advisors, attorneys and accountants, all of which was very time consuming and extremely costly, I learned that I had a lot more to learn.

If you have a death in the family and all of a sudden you realize you are in charge, gather the following information before consulting the professionals. It will save you time away from your business and relieve some of the stress. Not to mention make it easier for your consultants and saving you money. Here is a list of the things you may need to do to settle the estate and who can help you with answers:

GENERAL PROCESS FOR ESTATE SETTLEMENT

Send for Copies of Death Certificate

Gather Information on Estate Assets: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors

Meetings With Estate Planning Attorney, Accountant, Financial Advisors

Valuation of Assets - Date of Death or Alternate Date Six Months Later: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors

Get Appraisals for Real Property and Business Interests: Executor, Trustee, Family Members

Preparation and Filing of United States Estate Tax Return Form 706: Attorney

Preparation of Estate Settlement Allocation Schedule: Attorney

Preparation and Filing of Estate Income Tax Return: Attorney and Accountant

Meetings With Family To Determine Appropriate Reallocation of Estate Assets

Consider - Assets and Amounts to be Placed Into A/B, A/B/C or Other Trusts, Needs And Abilities Of Surviving Spouse, Family Gifting Programs: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors

Set Up Listing of Buys/Sells for Schedule D of the Applicable Income Tax Returns: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors

Transfer and Change of Title/Ownership Registration of Estate Assets into Newly Created Trusts, Existing Trusts, Business, Joint or Personal Accounts: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors

Preparation and Filing of Applicable Joint and/or Individual Income Tax Returns: Accountant

One of the hardest parts of estate settling I found was the filing of the Estate Tax Return. The following is much of the information you will need. Your accountant and attorney will ask for it so you may as well have it ready.

INFORMATION NEEDED FOR UNITED STATES ESTATE TAX RETURN

FOR EACH ASSET IN THE ESTATE YOU WILL NEED TO INDICATE THE OWNERSHIP. FOR EXAMPLE: DECEDENT, SPOUSE, JOINT WITH SPOUSE, JOINT WITH OTHER JOINT TENANTS, TENANTS IN COMMON, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, GENERAL PARTNERSHIP, PART OF BUSINESS INTEREST

Real Estate:

Description, Property Appraisal, Valuation Include Personal Residence Here If Applicable

Stocks and Bonds:

Description, CUSIP Number, Number of Shares, Price Per Share, Bond Par Value, Number of Bonds, Price Per Bond, Total Value

Mortgages and Notes:

Face Value and Unpaid Balance, Date of Mortgage or Note, Date of Maturity, Name of Maker, Property Mortgaged, Interest Dates and Rate of Interest

Cash:

Name and Address of Financial Institution, Account Balance, Account Number, Nature of Account - Checking, Savings, C.D.'s

Insurance on Life: Name of Insurance Company, Policy Number, Number of Decedents: Form 712 Life Insurance Statement from Company, Include - Insurance on Decedent's life receivable by or for benefit of estate and receivable by beneficiaries other than the estate

Jointly Owned Property:

Information as indicated above - Interests Held By Decedent and Spouse as the Only Joint Tenant, All Other Joint Tenants

Other Misc. Property:

In this section list items not included in any other;

section above such as -

Debts Due the Decedent

Interests in Business

Interests in Partnership or Unincorporated Business

Insurance on Life of Another

Section 2044 (QTIP from Prior Transfer) Property

Claims, Judgements

Rights, Royalties, Leaseholds

Reversionary or Remainder Interests

Shares in Trust Funds

Household Goods and Personal Effects

Automobiles, Boats, R.V.'s

Annuities, IRA's

Name of Financial Institution,

Trustee or Custodian

Pensions:

Description Account Number, Account Value, Beneficiary Information; Transfers During,

If Applicable, All Necessary Information Decedents Life:

Powers of Appointment:

If Applicable, All Necessary Information

In addition to all of the above information for the federal estate tax return, you will need information including descriptions, asset values and expense amounts for the following allowable estate deductions:

Funeral Expenses
Expenses Incurred in Administering Property Subject to Claims
Debts of the Decedent
Mortgages and Liens
Net Losses During the Administration
Expenses Incurred in Administering Property Not Subject To Claims
Bequests to Surviving Spouse
Charitable, Public and Similar Gifts and Bequests

I hope you never have to use this information. But if you do, this will save you thousands of dollars in consulting fees, weeks of lost revenues from your business and a lot the stress, hardship and anxiety I went through.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

In The News:

AFP
Philippines grief at Sanchez's 'American Idol' loss
AFP
MANILA — President Benigno Aquino led the heartbroken Philippines in heaping praise Thursday on a teenager of Filipino-Latino heritage following her loss in the final of US talent show "American Idol". Millions of Filipinos watched Jessica Sanchez, 16 ...

and more »

Oncologists Grief at Patient Loss Affects Treatment
Doctors Lounge
One coping strategy and impact of patient loss was compartmentalization, involving the ability to separate feelings of grief from other aspects of their lives. The theme of balancing emotional boundaries between growing close enough to care for ...
Cancer docs often deal with own grief, doubts when patients dieKTTC

all 13 news articles »

fox4kc.com
Family Deals with Grief & Loss After Joplin Tornado
fox4kc.com
The memories never leave and neither does their loneliness and grief. The Carmonas try not to remind rhemselves of the trauma they suffered but Kari can't help avoid the now empty lot where her daughter and husband were killed. They're doing their best ...
Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about ...Joplin Globe

all 66 news articles »

Ted Mayr Funeral Home to offer grief support sessions
Ventura County Star
“In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in awareness about the critical need to help individuals deal with the grief accompanying the loss of a loved one,” said Sherry Scott, general manager of Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory.

NEWS.com.au
PM expresses grief over loss of lives in train accident
IBNLive.com
PTI | 11:05 PM,May 22,2012 New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Hampi Express train accident near Penukonda in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. In his message Singh said, ...
Mukul Roy announces ex-gratia for Hampi Express mishapDaily News & Analysis

all 1,015 news articles »

Shared Grief
Ashland Daily Tidings
Writer/director Phillipe Falardeau brilliantly captures not only the milieu of a middle-school classroom, with all of its quirks and individual personalities but touches deftly and insightfully on the students' reactions to the loss of their teacher ...

and more »

Philip Kaufman goes from loss to HBO's 'Hemingway'
San Francisco Chronicle
It must have been an exceedingly strange time for Kaufman and his producer son, Peter - losing wife Rose only a month earlier, living in the fog of grief and loss, dealing with the giant task of adjusting to life without her.

and more »

Understanding Common Reactions to Grief – No You're Not Going Crazy
WBGH
June 21 – Norwich: Hospice of Chenango County Monthly Living with Loss Talk. This month's discussion is about common reactions to grief that can make the griever feel crazy. These common reactions can include memory loss, changes in sleeping, ...

Writing Down the Grief
Huffington Post
Nobody ever suggested grieving, period. But teenagers are grieving, and the more we can guide them through this process the more they can begin to understand the losses in their lives. When I was sixteen years old, I had three people die within two ...

John Edwards deserves compassion, not ridicule
Daily Local News
The loss of a child is the most horrendous human experience imaginable. It shatters people beyond the comprehension of those who are fortunate enough not to have to experience it. I have felt all along that this was a grief issue and that the death of ...

Google News