“He died with his boots on.”
Admirable, but he left the rest of us to deal with his assets and debts.
Where to start? First, we want to find his will and any burial instructions. Since he didn’t tell anybody the location of his documents before he rode off into the sunset, we’ll look in a logical place: his safety deposit box. The bank may allow access without a court order – but if we find the documents we can’t just take them. For the will – the bank employee may deliver it to the clerk of the court with probate jurisdiction or to the executor named in the will. Burial instructions are delivered to the agent, and life insurance policies go to the named beneficiary. If the bank is unwilling to cooperate, then we can get a court order.
Next, we have to pay for his funeral and the immediate upkeep of his horse. For that, we can file an Application for Emergency Intervention to provide immediate access to his assets for limited purposes. This can be done anytime within 3 to 90 days after his death.
If there are other immediate actions that have to be taken to avoid irreparable harm, then we can file for a temporary administration of his estate.
