One of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning is the Executor…the one who will be in charge of executing your wishes and desires when you pass away. Often times it seems simple, who is the logical choice based on the family structure. But this might not be the best choice and might not be the role they want to play in the end. Rather than just “choose someone” to do this role, careful thought should go into why you would want to choose a certain person if you want your estate plan to be execute smoothly and efficiently.
You put a great deal of thought into your estate plan to get it just right so your executor can carry out your true wishes and desires to your loved ones. It should be more than assets…it should be your guidance and wisdom to help your loved ones in the future. With all this time spent getting your estate in order and planned, doesn’t it make sense to have the right person in place to make sure your wishes are carried out while maintaining family harmony? I think so.
The person in charge is called the executor. Instead of thinking about whether the person they are choosing is the right person, many people just pick a close friend or relative. While this can certainly work for some, it may not always be the best selection. This is often times a “knee jerk” reaction and one where you “don’t want to make them feel bad” if you don’t select them. Or it may be “the one everyone thinks should handle it” type of decision. None of these may be the right selection for an executor. All of these can be very big mistakes if the person does not know what they are doing, as Forbes points out in "Choosing an Executor for Your Estate."
The executor of your estate has a lot to do…it is ideally suited for someone who is generally very organized. There are often important tax decisions which may need to be made quickly, for example. The executor needs to identify what assets you have at the time you pass away. However, their role is not to just give those assets to the people you want to have them. Their role is to inventory all the assets that are described in the estate plan and then formulate a plan, with the guidance of an estate attorney, of how and when they will be distributed. There are always costs involved and these have to be taken care of by the executor before assets are distributed.
One of the first things that have to happen is for the executor to go to probate court and be officially appointed to administer the estate. They will then need to determine if there is any debt in the estate when you passed away. That debt normally needs to be paid out of your assets before any property can be distributed or monies given out. This is just the beginning of the executors’ duties and responsibilities.
Your executor also needs to be someone who has the time to serve in the capacity but also can handle administrative and financial tasks well. It is important for the executor to understand this is a legal responsibility and there are laws that have to be followed in the execution of their duties. This is much more than just a relative handing out property to the other relatives…it is a legal obligation that is monitored by the courts.
I highly recommend that the executor meets with your estate attorney before they do anything so they have some guidance in what they should expect and what they should be doing going forward. Then they can lay out a plan to assist the executor is how to carry out their wishes according to the law. So think about who you know, family or not, that would be willing to serve and you feel can handle the complexity and pressures of the role.