As an adult, ensuring you take the necessary time to establish an estate plan is vital to protecting your hard-earned assets and supporting your loved ones after your passing. In addition to deciding who will receive what assets, you’ll need to determine who will serve as the executor of your will while working with Pennsylvania estate planning attorneys. If you’re having trouble choosing an estate executor, the following blog can help you learn what you must consider when deciding.
What factors should I consider when picking an estate executor?
To understand what you should think about when making a decision, you must know what an executor does. They are responsible for the administrative aspects of an estate, such as maintaining and protecting assets until they can be distributed according to the wishes of the will’s creator.
As such, the most important quality you should look for when choosing an executor is someone qualified. Generally, this means they are a legal adult and mentally capable. If they have a communication or intellectual disability or are under 18, they will not be able to act as your executor. The courts will appoint another party to assume the role in their place.
You should also appoint someone reliable. This is a significant responsibility, as many tasks must be completed on time. Your executor must pay bills, file tax returns, inform the necessary offices of your passing, and sell real estate according to your will.
Finally, you’ll want to ensure the person you appoint to this role is honest. Because they have several responsibilities that impact your heirs directly, you should carefully consider the integrity of a person before decision they will be your executor. As such, you should avoid appointing someone with a history of theft, embezzlement, fraud, or other dishonest activities.
What should I do when I make a decision?
When you decide who you want to appoint as your executor, you should discuss the idea with the person. This allows you to go over the responsibilities to ensure they are okay with accepting the responsibility.
If they agree, you will then formally name them as the executor in your will. If you have not created a will already, sitting down with an attorney to create the document is vital to helping you through this process. The estate plan allows you to name an executor and an alternative if you wish. This ensures there is a second choice if the named executor cannot assume the role upon your passing.
At Friedman Schuman, our dedicated legal team will do everything possible to help make estate planning as simple as possible. We understand the complexities of this process. As such, it’s our goal to help you achieve the necessary peace of mind for the future. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
