Executor

An executor is the person appointed by a will to administer the estate: collecting in the assets, paying debts, funeral expenses and taxes, applying for a grant of probate where one is needed, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries.

Where there is no will, the equivalent role is an administrator, appointed under the intestacy rules.

What the job actually involves#

Registering the death and obtaining certificates. Locating the will. Identifying and valuing every asset and liability. Completing inheritance tax accounts and paying any tax due — often before the grant is issued, which creates a real cashflow problem. Applying for probate. Collecting assets, settling debts, preparing estate accounts, and distributing.

It commonly takes between nine months and two years. Executors are personally liable for losses caused by their own default, which is a fact most people accepting the role do not know.

Appointing well#

• Two is usually better than one. It spreads the work and covers incapacity or death.
• Name substitutes. An executor who dies first, or who renounces, leaves a gap.
• Consider age. Appointing a contemporary means appointing someone likely to be elderly or gone when needed.
• Beneficiaries can be executors, and usually are. It is not a conflict in itself.
• Ask them first. Nobody is obliged to act, and being appointed by surprise is a poor start.
• Think about professionals. For complex estates, a professional executor may be worth the fee — but check how that fee is calculated before appointing one.

The drafting failure to avoid#

Appointing an executor but never properly identifying them — a first name and no address, or a description that fits two people in the same family. Willo draws executors from the client record so the person in the will is the person on the file.

Related#

Residuary estate · Probate · Will writing software