Closing a Nevada estate is not an easy task. In a best-case scenario, someone with financial and legal knowledge would handle probate proceedings and would gladly accept the role well before the time came to act. Of course, that is not always how the situation works out. In many cases, individuals prefer to have a close loved one handle their final affairs, and as a result, you may now face the many duties of being an executor.
While you may have accepted the role of closing your loved one’s estate, you may not necessarily consider yourself fully knowledgeable about the exact details of successfully completing probate. In particular, one area you may have concerns over relates to paying expenses relating to the estate.
Do you pay, or does the estate?
You will likely have the ability to use estate funds for the majority of expenses necessary to complete probate. However, it is important to remember that you could easily find yourself in a difficult predicament if you spend money on non-essential items or services, or even if beneficiaries of the estate simply believe that you are misusing funds. In order to have a better idea of when you can use estate funds or when you can obtain reimbursement from the estate, you may want to consider the following examples:
- Travel: If you have to travel to the decedent’s home in order to maintain the property or to oversee any repairs taking place, you have the ability to obtain reimbursement for mileage from the estate. In 2019, the government’s mileage reimbursement rate is 58 cents per mile.
- Home repairs: In addition to traveling to oversee repairs, you may need to purchase materials for those repairs or hire professionals to handle the needed tasks. If so, you do not have to pay for those expenses out of your own pocket.
- Administrative costs: As the executor, you have the obligation of informing the necessary parties about the probate proceedings, which means you will need to obtain, copy and mail important documents. Fortunately, the expenses associated with mailing, copying, buying checks for the estate and other similar actions are reimbursable to you.
You may face a number of other expenses as you work to settle your loved one’s final affairs, and you may understandably worry about using someone else’s money. Indeed, it can prove a touchy subject for many people, especially other surviving loved ones, heirs and beneficiaries. If you have concerns over spending estate funds or find yourself accused of misusing funds, you may want to discuss the topic with your legal counsel.