Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

As a professional wealth manager and financial advisor for over three decades, I’ve yet to encounter an Executor who had a completely smooth experience without challenges. Finding someone willing to take on this role again after their first experience is rare. Before asking anyone to be the Executor of your estate, consider these six important factors:

Estate Planning1. Do They Have the Most Important Skills of All—Patience and Understanding?

Being an Executor often requires the skills of a Human Resources executive due to the various personalities involved. The death of a loved one is an emotional event, and the Executor must handle interactions with empathy and understanding. If the person you choose lacks these qualities, their interactions with the heirs might become harsh and counterproductive.

2. Are They Process-Oriented?

While being friendly is beneficial, settling an estate involves following a series of detailed steps. The Executor should be someone who doesn’t get easily flustered by multitasking. They need to be methodical, handling tasks such as ordering death certificates, informing heirs, and completing another 20 to 50 steps required to settle the estate.

3. Are They Financially or Legally Savvy?

Money and legal matters are at the core of an Executor’s responsibilities. While they don’t need to be experts, they should be comfortable discussing financial and legal issues and interacting with professionals in these fields.

Protection4. Will They Accept the Role as an Honor, a Sense of Duty, or for Self-Serving Reasons?

Choosing someone who views the role as an honor or duty can be beneficial, but a professional who has experience and earns a living from being an Executor might be the best choice. Such a professional understands the value of their time and can work efficiently, with their costs clearly deducted from the estate. This can reduce conflicts among heirs and ensure the process runs smoothly.

5. Do They Work Well with Others Collaboratively?

Being an Executor is not a one-person job. Larger estates or those with complexities require collaboration with various people. Therefore, it’s essential to choose someone who excels at working well with others.

Communication6. How Old Are They and How Much Life Experience Do They Have?

Some problems require situational solutions that only come from life experience. An Executor with sufficient life experience will likely handle unexpected issues more effectively than someone younger or less experienced. By considering these factors, you can select an Executor who is well-equipped to manage your estate effectively, minimizing stress and potential conflicts for everyone involved.

 

 

Ian Goldey, the author of this article, brings over three decades of experience as a private wealth manager, assisting families with their financial planning. He has applied this extensive knowledge, along with his partners to create WhenIDie.com, a digital platform that simplifies the entire process of death planning and more. Try it free for 30- days. Apply this code 2024BLG15 for a 15% discount!

 

Legal Disclaimer

The information provided in this blog is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be tax, legal, or financial advice. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel tailored to their individual circumstances. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information presented, we make no representations or warranties regarding its completeness, accuracy, or current applicability. The use of this blog does not create an attorney-client or accountant-client relationship. For personalized advice, please consult a licensed attorney, tax advisor, or financial professional.

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

A spreadsheet for hardcore finance geeks that want to analyze and track past performance of various asset classes. Users of this free template can customize and update for their own personal needs.

Goals

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

Quickly trim down existing position. Establish percentage target and current price and the program will do the rest. Easily export one file for Schwab Trading Allocation, a second file is exported to users’ compliance folder. Users can simply adjust within a single account or utilize a customer restricted list to prevent new sells.

Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

A quick tool to ascertain cash levels as a percentage – sorted from high to low or reverse. A better tool than Schwab for those that want percentage of account value, not just percentage of equity as found on Schwab position page.

Six Things to Consider Before Asking Someone to Be the Executor of Your Estate

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One of the most popular programs for those traders who like to build models with ETF’s, Stocks, Closed-end funds or a combination. Up to 3 different models can be created with this elegantly complicated but simple trading tool. Easily export one file for Schwab Trading Allocation, a second file is exported to users’ compliance folder. Cross reference against a customer restriction list to reduce potential for trading in select accounts.

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A very powerful tool for investors in the real estate industry trying to calculate profitability on potential property. Many investors don’t truly calculate the costs for their investment and this program attempts to close the gap of financial guessing from reality.

Home Tab – Category headers include Investment, mortgage, Expenses, Income and Profitability at 10 years.

Chart Equity Tab – Illustrated visually the crossover point into breakeven based on data input from Home tab for income and expenses.

Chart When Profitable Tab – – Illustrated visually the crossover point into profitability based on appreciation, net return of profits. Bottom chart shows how many months until profitability.

Amortization Tab – view the math behind the formula results to see how each month tracks.

Depreciation Calculator

Modified Account Cost Recovery System MACRS is the method used for this handy calculator for all those needing to estimate how an asset depreciates over time.

Basis – is the dollar starting point

Depreciating Method – DB-SL is for Declining Balance Single Line

Convention – Time period

Self-Explanatory single page workbook.

Summary Returns Multi-Index

A spreadsheet for hardcore finance geeks that want to analyze and track past performance of various asset classes. Users of this free template can customize and update for their own personal needs.

Credit and Loan Payoff Calculator

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Top section of the worksheet establishes the math behind paying off a debt based on time, loan amount and rate. You can choose to payoff the highest rate card first or lowest rate in the drop choice for Payoff strategy.

The bottom section of the worksheet is for listing all your debt and terms.

Schedule Tab – For those who like to see the data results this page will show the schedule payoffs for each debt based on Input choices made on the first tab.

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Social Security

Social Security – A financial calculator that helps estimate the results of various choices facing each social security participant. Updated for current estimates by the US Government our calculator will show various results of different scenarios. For example, choice one might be to take Social Security distributions at the earliest moment while choice two might illustrate the long-term extra income from delaying distribution until later years. A great tool for those planning their retirement and want to have more knowledge to help them decide what choice works best for them. A married couple might have different choices, someone that is sick or injured might have different choices. This app is integrated into our Organizer Planner and Protector desktop suite for powerful integration for users and other people they trust to collaborate.

Income

Loan Payoff Calculator

Loan Payoff Calculator – There is good debt and bad debt, and this is something many financial advisors discuss with client. With Asset Planet, users can help determine what is best for them. Our AI within the Loan Payoff Calculator will first compare your rates and terms with comparable loans and the current savings rates on 10-year US Treasury bonds. If our software AI detects a disconnect between what a user has vs other facts, the user will receive a notification to evaluate better opportunities. For example, a good use of debt might be a home loan, but if the terms of the original loan are high for today’s market, the user will receive a notification with possible opportunities to contact third party financial partners to address their needs. High interest rate credit cards and other short-term, high-rate, non-deductible debt are possible examples of bad debt. Users that want a mathematical method to determine how to pay the debt can utilize the functionality of the Asset Planet Loan Payoff Calculator. This app is integrated into our Organizer Planner and Protector desktop suite for powerful integration for users and other people they trust to collaborate.

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Dine In / Dine Out (2 in 1) – Humans need to eat so we are developing an incredible app to help organize and track each person’s favorite ways of eating in or outside their home. Dine In is a super-efficient grocery list that can be shared by family members. Dine Out suggest new places or organizes your favorite foods and places to eat.

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Inventory & Collectibles (2 in 1) – Embrace OCD and the love of being organized with these two apps. Inventory organizes items in your home, office, storage and other locations in an easy-to-use, detailed process. The Collectibles App covers many types of collections with enough detail to satisfy the pickiest of collectors.

Key Features
  • Organized layout for intuitive data entry
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  • UPC scanning engine for quick data entry
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  • Your data is private! Name, location and details are encoded to become a generic number to our staff and others. Your Privacy read more.
  • Why pay for one app that is limited when you can join the Asset Planet platform and get multiple apps for one low price?
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