How To Choose An Executor For Your Estate

What Is an Executor?

An executor is the individual who is appointed to administer the estate of someone who has passed away. The executor typically knows that they are the executor of the estate before the individual has passed away and is responsible for distributing the assets in your estate.

An executor can be a third party, like an attorney, or a beneficiary of the estate. Choosing your executor carefully will help distribute your assets as you’d like and ensure less conflict for your loved ones after your death.

What To Look For In an Executor

There are a lot of different factors you may want to consider when choosing the executor of your estate. Personality traits and family relationships may make some individuals better suited to be executors.

Trustworthiness

It’s important that you choose someone that you trust to appoint as your executor. You’ll most likely use a will or trust to outline your wishes, but your executor will have access to sensitive personal and financial information. It’s important that you choose someone that you trust to handle your private information.

Financial Knowledge

Your executor is responsible for managing the financial assets in your estate. It’s recommended that you choose someone with some financial knowledge.

Executors don’t typically have extensive financial responsibilities, but they may be responsible for paying off debts or managing investments. Mismanaging an estate is, unfortunately, fairly common when the executor doesn’t have sound financial knowledge or experience.

Available and Committed

Being an executor of an estate can be time-consuming. You should choose someone who has the time to give to executing your estate and is willing to dedicate that time to estate matters.

Executing an estate can be a major responsibility. It’s a good idea to choose someone that you feel can confidently manage the responsibility of being an executor.

Understanding Family Dynamics

Family dynamics can make executing estates complicated. In families with tense relationships or complicated dynamics, a good executor will understand the family dynamics or be able to pick up on them and avoid conflicts.

Choosing someone with people skills can be a great option. Someone who understands family relationships can navigate complicated relationships and situations.

Work With an Estate Planning Attorney

Choosing an executor for your estate can feel stressful. It’s a big decision, and it may feel difficult to make. 

Your estate planning attorney may be able to help guide you through the decision process of choosing an executor. After working with you to create your estate plan, your attorney will have a good idea of the role and responsibilities of your executor.

Contact Campbell Law today to learn more about our estate planning services and how we may be able to help you.