Do I Have To Serve As A Personal Representative If I Am Named To Do So In A Will?
The job of a personal representative can often be a very tough one, particularly if the decedent leaves behind a large estate, lots of debt, insurance policies all over the place and unclaimed dividends and salaries. Basically, the more the assets and liabilities of the decedent, the longer it is likely to take the personal representative to deal with the matter.
It is therefore no wonder that some people that have been named as an executor on their relative’s will actually have no desire to carry out this often thankless task.
Fortunately, it is not a legal requirement to do so, and you can refuse to act as the personal representative. If the estate and liabilities are varied and complex, you may not feel confident about handling the estate and being held accountable for such things as inventories and valuations, payment of liabilities, maintenance of assets, and disbursement to beneficiaries.
This can be a very long and often difficult process, and even with the assistance of a Probate Officer, probate attorney, and an accountant it can become confusing, especially at a time of grief.
You may have other commitments such as a family to look after, a job that has long or unusual hours or other similar commitments. Bearing in mind that the work of a personal representative can take a lot of time and effort, you may not be in a position to dedicate the time required to dealing with the estate of the decedent.
If you have been names as the executor, but feel that for whatever reasons you will be unable to do the job (or you simply don’t feel comfortable about doing it) then you should make this clear.
You may initially feel confident that you can do the job of a personal representative. However, it is often not until you actually see what is involved and the amount of assets and liabilities that have to be dealt with that you realise that perhaps you have taken on something you cannot possibly handle.
Again, you do not have to see the job through even if you have already agreed to take it on. All that you will need to do if you change your mind about being personal representative on the will is to let the courts know. You will have to provide any information you have already gathered with regards to the estate and liabilities of the decedent.
These details will then be passed on to the second executor names on the will.
It may be that the decedent did not name a second executor on the will, or the second executor may also be unwilling or unable to deal with the process. In this case, the courts will take over and will assign their own personal representative to deal with the will, in the same way that they would if there was no will left at all.
