Most people don't realize how time consuming managing an inherited estate can be until they go through it.  It's never fun.  Not only have you lost a loved one, but managing through the probate process and sorting through the home and all of the belongings and be emotional and raise a lot of memories.

If you are the Executor of the estate, you have a lot of responsilbilies and at the beginning, it can seem overwhelming.  There are a lot of things to manage and lot of laws to follow (and they do vary state by state).  One of the most important things to do at the very beginning is to hire an experienced estate attorney.  This person will be super helpful for you.  They will be your guide so you can navigate the process.  They will help you avoid costly mistakes and they will help you get through this this faster.  They will give you advice on how to uncover assets that you might not have realized existed as well as resources on how to sell and liquidate assets.  Their advice is so important.

When you're an Executor, you should find these 2 articles will come in handy: 1) 18 Important Executor duties and 2) The 8 most common Executor mistakes and how to avoid them.  Also, in these articles, you'll find several other helpful resources for Executors.

But, sometimes, in additional to all of the standard things that happen during the probate process, additional complications can arise and throw a curve ball into your plans.  So, I thought I'd gather some of these complications in one place.  If you know or expect and of these to occur, it's important to discuss them with your estate attorney at the beginning.  Experienced estate attorneys have seen more than their fair share of these issues, and importantly they'll be able to give you advice to potentially avoid them and/or to help you solve them when they arise.

• 1.  Siblings may not agree about what to do with the house.  One sibling may want to sell the house while another one may want to move into it or rent it out.  This is where it's helpful if the Executor has good consensus skills so that the family can come to agreement and move forward.

2.  You may unexpected liens on the home.  You may have a tax lien, a mechanical lien or a medical lien on the house.  Liens are debts, and they need to be paid before you sell a house (or before a house is refinanced).

3.  You may find other unexpected debts.  If there are other debts (e.g. remaining mortgage, credit card debt, other debts), these need to be paid before the inheritance is distributed.  As part of the probate process, these will get resolved.

4.  Managing the house.  If there's a house involved, you'll need to clear it out (see Supplies needed to clean out your parent's house).  And, of course if you are going to sell it, you'll need to fix up the house so that it's market ready.  But, there are many other responsbilities including maintaining the house while it's vacant (e.g. making sure it's safe and locked, property maintained (e.g. moving lawn, raking, clearing snow), managing utilities and insurance.  This of course can be more complicated if you live far away.  Check out this article on Home Maintenance checklist for vacant homes. You can hire people to take care of maintaining the home if you're not able to do it yourself.

5.  Someone may contest the Will.  While this doesn't happen that often, it does happen occasionally.  As part of the probate process, you are required to give notice to many parties, and if there have been family disputes or distrust, you may find that someone wants to challenge the legitimacy of a Will. This can be a costly process (due to the attorney fees involved) and can definitely slow down the probate process (which ultimately means that the inheritance will be lower and take longer to distribute.

6.  The Estate may be insolvent.  If the Estate has more debts than assets, that means the estate is insolvent.  There is a specific order in which to pay the bills and the debts (and it varies state by state).  So, it's so important that the Executor follows proper process and order as designated by the Probate court, otherwise, the Executor may be personally liable.  (Again, see the Most Common Executor mistakes and how to avoid them).  Of course if the estate is insolvent, the beneciaries won't inherit anything.  Instead, the money is distributed to the creditors first...until it runs out.  The remaining creditors which are lower on the list won't be paid either.  Importantly, left over debt does not pass down to the children.  See:  How to handle debt when someone dies.

7.  House is in severe disrepair...making it challenging to sell.  Sometimes the house hasn't been well maintained for a long time.  And, there may be a lot of repairs.  It's common to need to some repairs and some cosmetic changes to prepare the house for the market (e.g. painting, sand/replace flooring, minor repairs, etc.)  But other times, there are major repairs needed (e.g. replace heater, replace roof, etc.) and some of these may be very costly.  And, if the estate doesn't have liquid assets to make make major repairs, you may find that it's better to sell your house to a cash investor who can buy the house "as is."

The good news is that even when you're thrown these curve balls, there's usually a solution.  Consult your estate attorney, and problem solve with your family and your real estate agent.  Take a deep breath and look at things objectively. Consult with the experts and them make the decision you think is best.

If you live on Long Island and need to sell your house fast and for cash, I have a good resource for you. You can contact Rich Witt, owner of Long Island Cash Home Buyer LLC.  516-330-6940.