What happens if the named executor of a will does not appear to be doing his job?
When a person passes away, they usually leave a will listing all of their assets and bequeathing various parts of the estate to loved ones and family. Another purpose of leaving a will is to name an executor – someone to deal with all of the estate affairs including paying money out, chasing and receiving monies owed and dealing with disbursement of the estate.
Acting as the executor is no easy feat, particularly if the decedent had a large estate, owed lots of debt or was due lots of money from various insurers or other parties. There are many responsibilities to acting as executor, and these include:
- Determining the assets and estate left by the decedent and forming an inventory of the assets
- Deal with any valuations required on any of the assets left by the decedent
- Opening a bank account through which any financial dealing pertaining to the estate can be dealt.
- Ensure that any payments that are due to the estate are received (such as insurance dividends, salaries, and any other income)
- Checking whether the decedent had any insurance policies that are to be paid out, and providing the necessary paperwork and details to the insurers to ensure that the money due is paid to the estate.
- Getting in touch with the employer or former employer of the decedent to check whether there are any monies due to the estate in terms of unpaid salary, benefits or insurance policies.
- Looking in to and taking responsibility for any legal action in which the decedent was involved at the time of death.
- Determine which beneficiary gets what from the estate left by the decedent
- Determine whether the decedent had any liabilities, and if so contact the creditors to give them notice to make their claim from the estate
- Check the validity of any claims made against the estate of the decedent
- Ensure that all valid claims are paid from the estate of the decedent, including funeral bills and outstanding taxes as well as other liabilities to other creditors and administration costs associated with disbursement of the estate
- Ensuring that relevant authorities and organizations are informed of the person’s death (e.g. landlords, utility companies, social security, etc.)
- Ensuring that the assets and property of the decedent are kept in a good state of repair until they are disbursed to the rightful beneficiaries.
- Ensure that the remainder of the estate is distributed in accordance with the wishes of the decedent.
As you can see, it’s little wonder that some people that have been named as executors decide that they would rather not take on the job. However, there are those that will feel obliged to do the job if named to do so, but will struggle terribly. This is where you may find long delays and it may look as though the person is not doing their job. But when you consider the responsibilities and how long it can all take, you cannot assume that the executor is dragging his or her heels.
Another reason that the executor may not be executing the will as quickly as you may have hoped is as a sort of defense mechanism to block out the death of a loved one. The executor may feel guilty about dishing out the estate or may want to hang on to it for as long as possible in order to hang on to the memories of a loved one.
The responsible thing to do is to approach the executor and talk to him about the situation. Find out what is causing the delays. There may be a perfectly valid reason, as probate and will execution is often a waiting game. If the executor appears to be finding it difficult to cope, you can offer to lend a hand or perhaps suggest that a professional is brought in to make life easier for the executor. If you are a close relative, you may want to offer to stand in as executor.
The current executor has the right to step down at any point, so if he or she is finding it too much you can suggest that they step down to ease the burden and either yourself or another close relation can stand in. However, if the executor seems to want to continue with the job but is still struggling, the best way to handle it is to stand in as support, to help with all aspects of the will.
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2008-04-07 12:21:18
Probate is the legal process of settling a deceased person's estate, which includes paying creditors or debts, and distributing the assets of the deceased to the correct beneficiaries. It is a complic ... [read more]