Published on: 2nd November 2020

Executor of my Will - who should I appoint?

Choosing an executor for your Will is an important decision and one which can cause problems to those you leave behind if you get it wrong. We would generally recommend, wherever possible, that you appoint one or more family members as an executor and then, if they need assistance, they can delegate the work of administering your Estate to a trusted professional (ideally from Casey & Associates).

What does an executor do?

It is the responsibility of an executor to carry out the wishes of your Will when you die. This is a difficult job and if taken on by someone who is not a professional can often be described as a second job because of the amount of time it can take. Appointing one or more family members leaves the family in control but by delegating the work to a professional they relieve themselves of duties such as form filling at a difficult time.

Typical roles and responsibilities for an executor include:

• Managing property. If there is property left as part of the Estate, an executor will need to decide the best course of action for the property. This could mean the property is sold to release money to beneficiaries, or for example the property could be kept and then sold at a later date when it may fetch a greater return.
• Paying tax. Making sure the right amount of tax is paid is another key role for the executor, and one of the main reasons we recommend seeking the help of a professional as if a mistake is made, the executor could be breaking the law and face significant financial consequences.

There are many more responsibilities for executors but these are key areas.

Who can be an executor?

There is a common misconception that you cannot nominate a beneficiary to be an executor of your Will when in reality you can. As long as someone is over the age of 18 and with the mental capacity to make decisions then they can be nominated as an executor of the Will.

You can choose as many as 4 executors, but as all executors have to agree, having this number of executors can be impractical. Wherever possible and appropriate we recommend our Clients choose their spouse or children as an executor for their Will.

It is usually a good idea to appoint 2 executors in case one of them dies before you, and we would often suggest that your family executors delegate the work to a professional for all the reasons already discussed in this article.

What are the traits of a good executor?

When thinking about an executor, here are some traits you should look for:

• Someone experienced with paperwork and legal issues – if you are choosing an executor who will administer the Estate themselves then this will be important.
• Used to dealing with tax – as mentioned before, it is important to get taxation and payments correct so someone with experience of this would be a benefit.
• Property experience – Often a property is central to any Estate so choosing someone who has a good understanding of the property market and can extract maximum value from your property could be considered.
• Calm and used to dealing with disputes – Dealing with an Estate can be a contentious process especially if there are a number of beneficiaries, so placing someone in charge who is used to dealing with these disputes is important.

So who should you choose?

Over and above everything else, when choosing an executor you should choose someone you can trust as they will be responsible for carrying out your wishes which is why we recommend family wherever possible. We would also often recommend that the family delegate to a professional to take the pressure off the family. Delegating to the company that wrote the Will is often suggested as the Will writer will already know the family dynamics. Not only can administering an Estate cause a lot of stress to a family members named as an executor, but it also comes at the distressing time of just losing a loved one.

One final tip – Usually the executors are also trustees if any trust needs to be set up; for example if a beneficiary is aged under 18. if you do have to nominate trustees, we would recommend not nominating trustees from overseas. If, for example, you nominate a trustee from the USA, the trust could need to apply to US trust law which could complicate this process hugely.

If you are not sure about who you should be naming as executors of your Will, then our experienced team will be able to work with you to give you the reassurance that you are naming the most appropriate executors to carry out your wishes.

If you would like to meet one of our Consultants and discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other Estate Planning topic, please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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Our Covid-19 policy is now that if you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment. However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here.

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