Marshalling Estate Assets

Marshalling is the collecting of assets – selling real estate or personal property, transferring bank accounts in the estate account, liquidating stocks and other securities, and generally transferring all monies into the estate account.  The estate account should be opened as soon as the estate representative is appointed.  An Employee Identification Number (EIN) is required to be obtained from the IRS.  (Keep in mind this number has nothing to do with employees.)  Estate debts should also be ascertained in this second stage.  The length of this stage varies widely and depends largely on what needs to be done in order to liquidate the assets.  For instance, real estate usually takes longer to sell than a stock account, and most bank accounts are easily transferred into the estate account.  Generally though, this middle stage is completed within 6 months from the date the fiduciary is appointed.