Choosing an Executor? Keep These Key Points in Mind

Estate settlement can prove highly complex. Even after you’ve created your Last Will and Testament with the proper attention to detail, you still select an executor to fulfill those last wishes, settle debts, close accounts, and distribute your assets to the right people or entities. The seriousness and scope of this role should prompt you to choose your executor with care. Consider the following factors as you make this decision.

Responsibility and Capability

First and foremost, the person you choose as your executor must show the necessary sense of responsibility to handle the task properly. An executor must follow proper procedures, interact with family members and creditors alike, and settle the entire estate in accordance with the law and with your stated wishes.

Even the most responsible person you can find for the executorship may lack certain key qualities such as organizational skills, understanding of financial issues, money management experience, and the ability to make tough choices. If necessary, hire an outside party with the necessary capabilities.

Age and Health

Obviously, you want your executor to have enough emotional maturity and real-world experience to navigate the sometimes-tricky waters of estate settlement. However, while naming an older individual may help you achieve that goal, take care not to choose someone who might be too old or medically infirm to play this important role in the far future.

You can hedge your best against these concerns by naming either a young, healthy co-executor who will work alongside the primary executor or at least one younger alternate executor to step in if the primary executor becomes unable to do the job.

Potential Conflicts Among Heirs

The wrong choice of executor can stir up a hornet’s nest of problems in the family dynamics department. Consider whether your executor of choice may fight with other friends or family members who stand to inherit part of your estate, even to the extent of interfering with their inheritance. Even the simple fact that an executor may take an extra fee for services rendered could strike the others as unfair.

In cases of family conflict, you might benefit from naming an attorney or other third party as your executor. On the other hand, the more deeply your execurit understands the family dynamics, the more skillfully that individual might manage them.

Dana Law Group can advise on many details of estate settlement or even help administer the estate before and/or after your death. Contact our skilled legal team to arrange a consultation.

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