Dear Mr. Premack: My parents have a violent schizophrenic son who they have not talked to since the 80's. My parents do not want to ever have contact with him. He is named in the Wills but is left nothing. I read that as executor I will be required to notify all heirs named in the Will within 60 days of their deaths. Will I be required to find and notify this person? – RA

Under current law, an Executor is required to send a notice to each "beneficiary" under the Will. A beneficiary is someone entitled to receive real property or personal property under the Will. If your parents’ Wills do not specifically give anything to your brother – they just mention his name – then he is not a beneficiary and is not entitled to notice.

What if their Wills are faulty, and fail to dispose of every asset? Then he may have rights to some part of the intestate estate as an heir-at-law when the second parent dies. You would then be required to notify him of the legal proceedings.

Thus, simply mentioning his name does not go far enough. They should take the extra step of disinheriting him in their Wills by stating he is not to receive any property by devise or under the laws of intestacy. That way, he cannot become an heir-at-law. They should also be certain their Wills affirmatively dispose of their entire estates by saying the "rest, residue and remainder" goes to other specific individuals. Then you won’t be forced to deal with your violent brother when settling your parents’ estates.

Dear Mr. Premack: I am Executor of the Will for my wife's Aunt who passed away in 2004. There was no real estate involved, only the distribution of remaining money. All the requirements of the Will have been satisfied. I was advised to keep all applicable documents for 5 years, which is over soon. Is the 5 year time period still valid and can I then shred the remaining documents? – SL

You keep documents because you need the information in them, or need them as legal proof that certain events took place. When do those needs end? It depends on the circumstances.

For instance, assume one of the estate heirs was three years old when you distributed funds (to the custodian or guardian). Assume also that you made an error and distributed less than the child should have received. When the child turns 18, that new adult has the legal right to sue you for damages. That right remains open for two to four years (depending on the nature of the wrong you may have done). So you would keep those papers until the statute of limitations expires.

Many estate papers also have an official home. Real estate deeds would have been filed with the county clerk’s office, and the originals given to the heirs. Procedural documents (like the application for probate or the court order granting you letters testamentary) stay on file with the probate clerk. If you shred your copies and find that you later need them, you can buy replacements from the clerk.

If you were careful, did your job without error, obtained receipts for the distributions, and if all the heirs were adults, then five years is a reasonable time to retain your copies of the estate papers.