What Are My Duties as an Executor of a Will?

A deceased person’s estate has to go somewhere, and a last will and testament seeks to answer the question of where. However, in order for that to happen, a will requires what is known as an “executor.” If you’ve been assigned such a task, there are a few things you will need to know.

Work as an Executor of a Will Requires a Lot of Responsibility

After all, what you are faced with is ensuring that the requests of the deceased are honored sufficiently. Whatever the will says must be executed. In order to do that, you will need the assistance of a qualified estate planning attorney, especially if the decedent happened to own plenty of assets and wealth.

If you have lots of questions about being an executor, it’s best to consult an attorney. He or she will fill you in on the overall concept of estate planning with specialized information on wills, trusts, and taxes. In general, though, you only need to know one basic role as a whole: you are to carry out the wishes of the deceased person.

This could include offering the will for probate, and taking action to protect all estate assets. You will also make any distribution of property to beneficiaries listed in the will as well as payment of all debts and taxes. Be careful, however; an executor entrusted with that responsibility can be held personally liable for mismanaging the assets. Because of the large scale of the role, this also is why you can, in fact, refuse the request to be an executor. If that is the case, oftentimes the will then names an alternate executor if you refuse. The court may even appoint someone to carry out those responsibilities.

When It All Begins for the Executor of a Will

To start, when you accept the task, your first duty is to examine the will and trust documents. After offering up the will for probate and obtaining letters testamentary of authorization for you to act on behalf of the deceased, funds will then be held before disbursement until the probate judge rules it so.

Be sure to find out if the decedent had what is called a living trust, which means all assets have already been transferred before death occurred; in which case you will not need to offer up the will to probate. Getting that out of the way will ensure you can focus on such aspects of estate planning as the funeral and burial expenses. The funeral home will also provide you with copies of the death certificate, serving to fulfill these important tasks:

• Closing financial accounts
• Canceling federal benefit payments
• Filing the final tax return

Sometimes as an Executor of a Will, You Have to Do Some Research

Asset allocation can be difficult for a lot of reasons. For one thing, locating, managing and then finally disbursing them can be a lengthy process. Additionally, when obtaining all assets, determining property value of such items as artwork and antiques may require the assistance of a qualified attorney. Real estate also counts as assets with value that must be appraised especially if the deceased still had debt to repay, which then those assets can be liquidated to offset those costs.

It is important to know that any beneficiaries listed in the will cannot be gifted until all debts are repaid. This is, however, not the case if the debts outweigh the value of the entire estate; beneficiaries are, in fact, not responsible for those debts in that case. Lastly, once all is said and done and the estate’s assets can be properly distributed, all that is required is to ensure property is appropriately cared for with the funds necessarily invested in successfully.

Remember: the process is very careful and deliberate. So exercise caution. And above all else, consult an estate planning attorney for help.