When people talk with us about our services it's inevitable that I hear them say they can handle it. 2 months later they are still working on it and have twice as much to do than when they started.
Believe me when I say "I've been there." I'm still working on my dad's estate 10 months later and his was a small one!
I've recently heard the following words ~- disheveled, braindead, recovery time, disheartened, baffled ~ these are only a few of them. As you can imagine, there are some that can't be repeated as well.
For those of you who want to tackle this monster on your own, here are a couple of tips to help you get through it.
1) Don't cancel the primary credit card used by your loved one. Many companies will credit back refunds to the card. This will speed up the process of getting money returned.
2) With all the companies that require a death certificate it can get very expensive. Ask if they will accept fax copies or better yet, a scanned PDF copy via e-mail. This saves time, postage and other expenses.
3) Use a return receipt when sending original documents. This gives you a record of who signed for it and when it was recieved. It guarantees that they have received what you sent and should help your follow up go smoothly.
These are small things that can save time and frustration in the long run. It's the hardest, longest job you can ever have. It usually only takes one time to realize you never want to do it again.
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