Executors have a lot on their plate – they’re in charge of wrapping up the deceased person’s affairs, and making sure that the transition is as smooth as possible for the family. This can be a daunting task, especially if the deceased person had a complex financial life.

One of the most important things for executors to do is to locate all of the deceased person’s assets. This includes both the obvious places, like bank accounts and investment portfolios, and the not-so-obvious places, like safety deposit boxes and hiding places inside of the deceased’s home.

Hiding assets around the home may seem like a good idea for the purposes of protecting against home invasions or nosy family members, but it can cause trouble when your assets need to be found – such as in the case of your death. If you have an affinity towards hiding assets out-of-sight, make sure your executor knows where to look should something happen to you. Otherwise, an asset might never be retrieved, which would defeat the purpose of protecting it in the first place.

Here are some of the most interesting hiding places we’ve dealt with while being involved in estate matters:

• In the depths of the deep freeze, underneath the frozen lasagna. The executor luckily found the cash when cleaning out the freezer.
• In between the pages of seven books, out of a total collection of 250.
• Inside the heat registers. An amazing hiding place, but will likely stay hidden until it’s time to clean out the furnace.
• Inside the toilet paper spring. Quite clever, if we may say so.
• Buried in the dirt of a potted plant.
• Taped underneath a drawer of a dresser.

All executors need to do their best to find all assets – including hidden assets – but there is also a responsibility on the testator to either keep their valuables in sight, or at least tell the executor where to look.

Next time you think of hiding your birthday money in your sock drawer, perhaps think twice and consider a bank account instead.

Guardian Estate Company is an independent estate planning and settlement resource. If you’ve been an executor and have a story to tell, feel free to connect with us. We’d love to hear your story.