When selecting the executor for your estate, it is important to understand exactly what this person will need to accomplish and hold responsibility for during their time serving as executor.
What exactly do executors do? What skill set do they need to succeed? Knowing the answer to these questions is crucial.
How to manage an estate
Forbes discusses the duties of executors. First, executors hold an important role in how the estate plan gets handled after your death. They must coordinate with every other member of the estate plan, such as attorneys or financial advisors.
They also hold responsibility for managing the assets of the estate. In general, this means paying off any outstanding debts, paying any ongoing bills, filing the final taxes, canceling unnecessary bills and arranging for the funeral. The executor will use estate assets to pay for the service, casket or urn, burial or cremation process and any ceremony that may accompany it.
Also, note that the probate process can sometimes last for years. This means your executor must have a relatively stable life plan for the future and the ability to dependably stick around for years at a time.
Traits of a good executor
As for traits the executor should have, they would benefit from time management and organizational skills, as well as leadership abilities. Communication and personal relation skills are also of key importance due to the fact that they will have to deal with grieving loved ones while simultaneously processing grief on their own.
It is a trying task that many find difficult, so you should keep this in mind as you try to decide who to choose.