Meet Ray…
My mom passed away last year. Although we all talked about the possibilities associated with my mom’s passing, I found myself simply unprepared for the tasks associated with closing out her estate. My siblings, although well-meaning, didn’t have the time nor expertise to help. I wasn’t sure what to do or where to turn.
A bit like a fish out of water, I reached out to my mom’s family attorney. I later found out that she hadn’t spoken to him several years. He had done a Last Will and Testament for her and Dad way back, but since Dad’s death, she had not really needed their help. I guess that’s a good thing.
Questions…questions…questions…
Talking to the attorney about what steps I needed to take to close out my mom’s estate, he gave me a ton of information, but for the most part, he did the heavy lifting. There were petitions to be filed and court dates to be scheduled. It seems that I would need to be named as a personal representative before I could actually do anything to get the ball rolling. I would then be tasked with taking an inventory of what my mom owned and making plans for what to do with her things.
Overwhelm…
It would be one thing if all I needed to do was the legal stuff. The attorney was actually a really good guy. He kept me informed and seemed to know the in’s and out’s of the probate process. But what I quickly realized is that Mom had not really been too good at keeping up with her house. She had been in rather poor health for a while. She had accumulated a lot of stuff and wasn’t terribly organized.
To put it simply, I was overwhelmed.
My wife didn’t have time to deal with all this either. How could I even ask her? My brother and sister were both out of state and had full time jobs and kids. How would I get all of these things out so we could even start to think about selling the house?
Thank goodness for experts…
I mentioned to the attorney one day that I wasn’t sure what to do with Mom’s house. I told him I felt ill-equipped and didn’t know where to begin. Much to my surprise he said, “Oh, there are people who do all those things. They can help you sort through the personal items and choose what you want to keep and then help you liquidate the rest. They are called move managers and they can help with both the emotional and logistical challenges that seem so overwhelming.”
He gave me the number for OKC Mature Moves and the rest is history. Not only did this group of people take the burden off of me and my siblings, but they seemed to really care about Mom and her legacy. I am so grateful to my attorney who made the introduction and who saved me a ton of time and frustration.
In fact, I just referred him and the OKC Mature Moves team to a buddy of mine from high school who just lost his dad.
Thank goodness for experts.
