It’s easy to be tempted to choose a family member or a friend who’s close to you. However, this shouldn’t be your sole premise as the task of executing the will is often very complicated.
Having a will is essential as you get to make your last will regarding what to do with your estate after your demise. And, to act on your behalf, you need to hire an executor, who’s also referred to as a personal representative. This individual is tasked with enforcing your wishes, as stated in your will. They also have other responsibilities, such as making sure all your claims or debts are settled and maintaining any real estate property until it gets transferred or sold. In addition, they’re also expected to pay the estate’s taxes and distribute the estate assets.
Therefore, the decision of who to choose as your executor is one which you need to contemplate on carefully. Here’s a detailed guide on the ideal qualities the person you choose as the executor needs to have:
- Organized
The person you’ll choose as the will executor will be tasked with many duties, both small and large. These include managing your properties and investments, filing your assets’ inventories with the probate court, and monitoring your bank. They might also find themselves in situations wherein they’ll have to deal with tax experts, appraisers, and financial advisors. As a result, they’ll often have a lot of paperwork, which can quickly become overwhelming.
Because of this, it’s best to choose an exceptionally organized person, and you can click here to find such a reliable executor. An executor without proper organization skills is going to have a hard time ensuring everything is in order. On the one hand, with an executor with excellent organization skills and attention to detail, you can be sure that they’ll properly execute your wishes. Therefore, they won’t waste your beneficiaries’ time and money.
- Financial Savvy
The executor you choose also needs to have in-depth knowledge on business or investment. This is important as some of the duties they’ll be tasked with handling include asset valuation, ensuring the estate is viable by paying the fees and mortgage during the probate process, and other financial details.
But, if your executor doesn’t possess any financial knowledge, they’ll highly likely to make a couple of mistakes following your demise. Due to this, the process of distributing your assets is further delayed, and the recipients might end up getting a hold of them after they’ve already fallen in value. The best way to prevent this from happening would be to go with a financially savvy executor.
- Trustworthy
It would be best if you’ll choose an individual who you trust, one who has your best interest and that of your beneficiaries. After all, you’ll not be there to dispute their actions if they don’t execute your wishes as stated in your will. This is vital as the executor during the probate process has significant control and power over your properties. Therefore, you’d want someone you’re sure will be responsible for managing whatever you’ve left behind.
In addition, the executor will have complete access to all your financial details, such as outstanding debts, your liabilities, and your estate. Because of this, you should choose an executor who you believe won’t share these vital pieces of information.
- Excellent Communicator
Your family and friends will still be mourning your demise even during the probate process. Therefore, they’ll be very emotional and tense throughout this period. Knowing this, you need to choose an executor with excellent communication skills as they’ll know how to compassionately approach and deal with your loved ones during this difficult moment.
In addition, they should be diplomatic and empathetic when explaining their actions are in compliance with the will. This is especially crucial should any of your beneficiaries think they’re getting unfair treatment in the distribution of properties.
- Strong-Willed
The executor is may experience a lot of resistance from your beneficiaries when executing your will. Therefore, the person you choose for this task needs to be thick-skinned and strong-willed to fight off any resistance that comes their way. This is necessary if some family members bring up an issue and decide to challenge your will. But, rather than having sleepless nights and headaches due to such conflicts, your estate executor needs to know how to capably deal with everyone fairly, while still keeping your interests at heart.
There’s also the chance that creditors may come with invalid claims after your demise. This means you’d want an executor who’s tough and open to take this matter to court and defend your estate.
Takeaway
It’s easy to be tempted to choose a family member or a friend who’s close to you. However, this shouldn’t be your sole premise as the task of executing the will is often very complicated. After reading this guide, you now understand the qualities to look for in an executor, and, rest assured, that the one you’ll ultimately choose is up to the task.
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