Part 6 of a series breaking down the process of helping clients set up their Wills by breaking the issues down into smaller, individual topics, enabling the adviser and client to take the necessary steps, and get the plan moving.

Choosing the executor for your Will hinges on the determination of who has the best ability to handle the responsibilities of administering your estate. The decision often turns on the personalities within the family, the geographic realities of family relationships, or the confidence in a professional fiduciary.

Family Dynamic

The choice of a family member as executor has traditionally fallen to the oldest child. Reality has barged in, however, with parents recognizing the oldest may not be the best able to handle the responsibility. It is a choice, however, which appears to avoid hurt feelings. Clients would be well advised to remember that a poorly administered estate may, in fact, result in a slower administration, and animosity among the surviving family members.

Geographical Concerns

Another reality to be addressed is that kids move away. Families all staying in one city for generations is no longer the norm. The trusted person with the closest access to the Court, and the client’s assets, may be the better selection than the “oldest child” who happens to live across the country. And, many courts require an out of state fiduciary to post a bond before getting appointed. This is essentially insurance against the fiduciary mishandling, wasting, or stealing the assets of the estate.

Confidence

The most important consideration for a client when selecting an executor is the level of confidence the client has that the estate will be administered promptly and timely. If a client lacks confidence, keep looking!

Corporate Fiduciaries

Clients should also consider the use of a bank or trust company to serve as executor. A corporate executor provides professional, objective administration of an estate, since it does not have loyalties to one heir or the other.  In addition, unlike an individual, a corporate executor does not retire, or move away. Being involved in estate settlements all the time, a corporate executor has vast experience in taxes, accounting, and access to experts who can provide ancillary services that an individual would spend hours trying to accomplish.  For a client who suspects his/her children will not see eye to eye on how assets are administered and distributed, choosing a corporate executor may not only eliminate that possibility, but may also end up preserving family harmony.

Our next topic, the last in this series on Wills, addresses how to make changes to a Will.  Do you need a new one, or can the existing one be modified?

Our attorneys are always ready, willing and able to meet and discuss all of those questions, help you articulate your plan and goals, determine the best plan to accomplish them, and then implement it. You will find that, by taking those small bites, the problem that used to lead to procrastination and uncertainty has been addressed and resolved. Learn more about Mansour Gavin’s Estate Planning & Probate group.