Your parents passed away, and they have named you as the estate administrator or executor. They did leave you a will, which is very helpful. It tells you how to distribute their assets. Some beneficiaries may already know what to expect, so you just follow the instructions and things should go relatively smoothly.
That being said, you may be a bit confused about what to do about your parents’ final bills. They may still have a bit of credit card debt that never got paid off, for example. They may owe income taxes and property taxes for the year. They may need to pay utilities; often, the family home is sold so that the money can be split between multiple beneficiaries, but this takes time and the home can still generate certain expenses. Who has to take care of these debts?
You can use the funds from the estate
You are the person who has to take care of these debts, as the estate executor. But don’t worry that this means you are on the line to pay out of your own personal funds. That’s not how debt works and it is typically not inherited by the next generation.
However, since you are the executor, you have access to all of your parents’ financial accounts. You can take assets from the estate and pay off the debts. This settles the accounts and closes them. You then take the remaining assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries.
The legal process
That is just one step you will need to take as an estate executor. Be sure you know exactly what to do during this complicated legal process.