Being an executor: what you are taking on

Being named executor is generally treated as an honour. It is a role with fiduciary obligations, potential personal liability and a substantial workload.

What the role requires

Locating and securing assets. Obtaining valuations. Notifying institutions, beneficiaries and creditors. Paying debts in the correct statutory order. Filing tax returns. Maintaining records. Preparing accountings. Distributing what remains.

Alongside this: dealing with a grieving family, some of whom may disagree with each other and with you.

The time commitment for a straightforward estate is commonly measured in dozens of hours across many months. A complex one is considerably more.

The duties

An executor is a fiduciary, which imposes specific obligations.

Loyalty. Acting in the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries rather than your own.

Self-dealing — buying estate assets, or favouring yourself as a beneficiary — is the classic breach.

Impartiality between beneficiaries.

Prudence in managing and preserving assets during administration.

Accounting. Keeping records adequate to demonstrate what was done with every asset.

Breach of these duties can result in personal liability, which is the aspect most people are unaware of when accepting the role.

The specific liability risks

Distributing before debts and taxes are settled. The most common serious error.

Where an executor distributes assets and a valid claim or tax liability then emerges, the executor may be personally liable for the shortfall.

Which is why waiting out the statutory creditor claim period before distributing matters, however impatient beneficiaries become.

Failing to file tax returns or to pay taxes due.

Losing value through inaction — failing to insure property, allowing an asset to deteriorate, or leaving a portfolio unmanaged for an extended period.

Poor records, which makes it impossible to defend against an allegation of mismanagement.

The practical sequence

In roughly the order things need doing.

Obtain multiple certified copies of the death certificate — more than you expect, since each institution wants one.

Locate the original will and any trust documents.

Secure property, including changing locks if necessary and confirming insurance remains in force. Insurers should be told the property is unoccupied, since standard policies may not cover a vacant home.

File with the probate court and obtain the documentation establishing your authority.

Open an estate bank account. Never mix estate funds with your own.

Notify institutions, government agencies, and the credit bureaus.

Compile the inventory with valuations as at the date of death.

Deal with creditor claims, paying valid ones and disputing questionable ones.

File the tax returns.

Distribute, obtaining receipts from every beneficiary.

When to get help

Engaging an attorney and an accountant is generally the right decision, and their fees are an estate expense rather than a personal one.

Situations where professional help is close to essential: a contested will, an insolvent estate, a business interest, property in multiple states, an estate large enough for estate tax, a beneficiary who cannot be located, or a family in serious conflict.

Attempting a complex administration alone to save the estate money is generally a false economy, and the personal liability sits with the executor.

Whether to accept

You are not obliged to. An appointed executor can decline, and doing so at the outset is far better than resigning midway.

Reasonable grounds to decline: living far away, lacking the time, being in poor health, having a conflict with beneficiaries, or being a beneficiary in a situation where others are likely to challenge your decisions.

Declining is not a betrayal. An executor who cannot do the job properly creates more difficulty than a professional appointment would.

For those doing the naming

The considerations that matter.

Ask the person first. Naming someone without asking is common and unhelpful.

Name a successor, since the first choice may be unable or unwilling when the time comes.

Consider whether the person has the temperament for it — organised, patient, able to manage family conflict.

Consider whether naming a beneficiary as executor creates a conflict, particularly where the estate is divided unequally.

And leave them a document listing accounts, professionals and where things are kept, which reduces the work enormously.

General information only, not legal advice. Executor duties and liabilities vary by jurisdiction — consult a qualified attorney before acting.