Having just watched this happen with my fathers passing, it was a shock. The man had a will (very generic) and a personal representative, a trust, and insurance.
Still, my sister ended up handling the funeral, the burial arrangements, the cleaning of the house (3 roll on dumpsters full!), the distribution and recording of assets, and the list goes on and on.
What I learned was:
1) Get your house cleaned out and toss all the junk years before you pass.
2) Specify if your home is to be sold, or left to an heir.
3) Specify where your assets should go as an addendum to your will. Keep it updated.
4) Have a medical directive in place.
Surely these are only a starting point.
My father really dipped my sister in the soup by having a basic will (really just a template with his name inserted) and then appointing her to carry out his unknown wishes.
My sister had 4 nephews and nieces driving past her house non-stop, calling and asking "where is the money?", and making outright threats against her person from one of these little [bleep].
While the other siblings have tried to pitch in, Sis will not let anyone help her. She has had the burden of trying to guess what to do with all my father's crap. Farm equipment, his home, his shop, his ATV, his guns, his personal effects, etc. Now she has to arrange for an auction.
DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR KIDS!
