What Responsibilities Does an Executor of a Will Have?

 Posted on February 18, 2020 in Estate Planning

Creating an estate plan is a vital responsibility regardless of your wealth or property. Surprisingly, approximately 60 percent of American adults have not even created a will, let alone any other type of estate planning document. Everyone deserves to decide how their possessions are passed down to heirs, but these decisions are left to state law when a person passes away without any estate planning instruments in place. If you are ready to start making your estate plan, you may be wondering who you should choose as the executor of your will. The executor has many key obligations, so it is important to choose someone who can fulfill these duties.

Completing Your Final Affairs

An executor is the person responsible for finalizing a deceased person’s worldly affairs. Executors, also called personal representatives, have a legal duty to act in good faith and with integrity on behalf of a deceased person. Executors have many responsibilities, including but not limited to:

• Managing the deceased person's property and belongings until they are distributed to heirs
• Supervising the distribution of the deceased person’s property as per the directions contained in the will, or if there is no will, according to intestate succession law
• Filing the will in the local probate court
• Representing the estate in court
• Terminating credit cards and notifying the deceased person’s bank of his or her death
• Contacting the Social Security Administration and other governmental agencies regarding the death
• Establishing a bank account for incoming funds and bill payment
• Paying the deceased person’s bills such as mortgage payments, utility bills, and homeowner's insurance premiums using estate funds and
• Paying the deceased person’s debts and taxes

The person you name as the executor of your estate has a large responsibility, so it is important to choose someone who you think can sufficiently handle executor duties. Many people choose a spouse, sibling, or adult child to be the executor of their will but the executor does not have to be a blood relative.

Contact a Wheaton Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate planning can be a complex process with many elements that require legal guidance. If you are ready to draft your estate plans, turn to the trusted DuPage County estate planning attorneys at Stock, Carlson & Asso. LLC to get the help you need. Our lawyers each have an impressive 40 years of legal experience and we are prepared to handle even the most complicated estate planning issues. Call our office at 630-665-2500 today and schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your needs.

Sources:

https://www.aarp.org/money/investing/info-2017/half-of-adults-do-not-have-wills.html

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T021-C032-S014-7-tips-for-choosing-the-right-executor.html