No one hands you a plan for this. Here's the whole process, in plain terms: the six parts of settling an estate, and what we take off your plate.
Of administrative work the person responsible typically takes on. A part-time job, for over a year.
How long most estates take to fully settle. The average is around twenty.
Banks, courts, and agencies to contact, each with its own process, and none of them coordinated.
Order death certificates, secure the home, find the will, and make the notifications that can't wait: Social Security, an employer, a pension.
We can order the certificates, make the urgent calls, and start building the full picture of the estate.
First 1–3 weeks.
Before anyone can act, the court has to put someone officially in charge. The paperwork is exact, the court is slow, and one wrong form can reset the clock.
We coordinate with an in-network attorney to determine if you need probate. We then work alongside the attorney to prepare and file the paperwork and follow the 6–18 month court process, end-to-end.
A few weeks to a few months (depending on your state's court).
Every account, property, policy, and debt has to be tracked down and valued. There's usually no master list, and things surface for months.
We find the accounts, even the ones no one knew about: bank and brokerage accounts, retirement funds, real estate, vehicles, life insurance, business interests, and digital accounts. Then we value the estate and guide you through the estate bank account set-up and funding process.
1–3 months, often ongoing.
Creditors and agencies are told, the credit bureaus are alerted to block fraud, and subscriptions are cancelled, while bills like the mortgage keep getting paid.
We make the notifications, hit the deadlines, shut down fraud risk, and keep the essential bills paid.
Runs alongside the court process.
Valid debts are paid from the estate in the order the law requires, and the final individual and estate taxes are filed. Paying in the wrong order, or too early, can leave you personally on the hook.
We pay what's owed correctly, push back on claims that shouldn't be paid, and bring in a CPA when taxes call for one.
Several months.
Once debts and taxes clear, what's left goes to the people it's meant for. A final accounting is filed with the court, and the estate is officially closed.
We handle the transfers and titles, prepare the final accounting, and close the estate.
The final stretch.
A rough starting kit. You won't have all of it (almost no one does), and tracking down what's missing is a big part of what we do. But anything you can find now gives you a head start.
Get the Honorly Checklist →Order several. Most institutions each want their own original.
If they exist. Check files, safes, and with their attorney.
Bank, brokerage, and retirement: anything that shows where money is held.
For any property or cars in their name.
Including any through an employer or a membership.
It points to income and accounts you might not know about.
Mortgage, loans, and credit cards.
Needed for many filings and notifications.
Email, phone, and a password manager, if you can get into them.
The industry speaks its own language. Here's what the terms actually mean, without the legalese.
Everything a person leaves behind: money, property, belongings, and any debts. You don't have to be wealthy to have one.
The court process that confirms a will (or handles things when there isn't one) and gives someone the legal authority to settle the estate.
The person named in a will to carry out the estate. If there's no will, the court appoints an administrator to do the same job.
The court document that proves you have the authority to act for the estate. Banks and agencies will ask for it constantly.
Dying without a will. State law then decides who inherits, not the family.
A person or organization set to receive something from the estate.
Some assets (joint accounts, anything with a named beneficiary, things held in a trust) pass directly and skip probate. The rest go through it.
The legal responsibility to act in the estate's best interest, not your own. It's why honest mistakes can still carry real liability.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Estate processes, names, and deadlines vary by state. Honorly handles the administrative work of settling an estate and coordinates licensed attorneys and CPAs when your estate requires them.
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