Adjust Debt

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Sometimes the amount owed on a debt changes due to external factors (for example, the amount increases due to accumulating interest, or a third party makes a payment).

Do NOT record the following as Adjustments:

It's not important to record every single change the moment it happens, and many people combine multiple changes into a single adjustment entry – just be sure that the debt is updated before running an inventory or accounting report.

Enter an Adjustment

To record that the amount owed has changed due to external factors:

  1. On the Debts Tab, click the "Adjusted" cell for the desired debt
  2. In the dialog that appears, enter the amount of the change, and select the Increase or Reduction option
  3. EstateExec will automatically show you any remaining amount owed
  4. Press the "OK" button

It's worth noting that debt adjustments do not cause an entry to appear in the Cashflow tab, because no estate funds change hands.

Multiple Adjustments

Once you have entered an adjustment for a debt, if you click the debt's Adjusted cell again, you will see a table listing all adjustments to that debt.

  • To add a new adjustment, click the "Add Adjustment" button
  • To edit an existing adjustment, just click its row
  • To delete an existing adjustment, select its row using the checkbox at the start of the row, and then press the "Delete" button

Debts Incurred After Death

If a debt was incurred after the death, once you enter it into EstateExec using the "Create Debt" button on the main Debts Tab, the initial amount owed will be listed as an adjustment. You can change the creation date or amount by editing this adjustment, but you cannot delete a creation adjustment. If you want to delete the creation of a debt, just delete the entire debt via the Delete button on the Debts Tab.

Third Party Payments

It's not uncommon for relatives of the deceased to pay certain debts on behalf of the estate, or to help out in general during the early stages before the executor gains access to estate funds... or at any point if the estate is short of liquid funds.

You should record the impact of any such payments as described above (as debt adjustments), and:

  • If the executor made the payments, you should also record the amounts on the Executor | Expenses Tab, for eventual reimbursement from the estate.
  • If anyone else made the payments, and there is an agreement that the estate will reimburse that person, then you should record these amounts as new debts on the Debts Tab (in essence, shifting the amounts owed from the original creditors to the people who made these payments). If someone made multiple payments on a debt, or paid several debts, you can just combine these amounts into a single Debt to that person for the total (mention the details in that new debt's Notes column).

See also Manage Debts.

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