How Do I Appoint an Executor to My Estate?
Understandably so, deciding who should be the executor of your estate may be more difficult to determine than the contents of your estate plan itself. However, this should not deter you from establishing an estate plan altogether. In actuality, the solution to this may seem quite simple with proper legal advisement. Read on to discover how to appoint an executor to your estate and how a seasoned Butler County will preparation attorney at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can help you identify the best-suited individual to assign.
How do I legally appoint an executor to my estate?
Before deciding who to legally appoint as the executor of your estate, you must understand what an executor is. That said, an executor is a trusted individual who is supposed to administer your estate when the time comes that you have, unfortunately, passed on. Specifically, an executor must conduct this administration in the precise manner you instructed within your will. This is all done after an executor takes your will to the Pennsylvania probate court to get it legally validated.
With this covered, now you must understand how to legally appoint an executor to your estate in the first place. The simplified step-by-step instructions for this are as follows:
- You must make a short list of individuals who may potentially act as your executor.
- You must contact your first-choice executor and ask their willingness to receive this appointment.
- You must disclose your desired executor within your will, along with their personal details and contact information.
How do I know who should act as my executor?
Further, before putting pen to paper and officializing your desired executor, you must be undoubtedly certain that they possess the right characteristics. The “right characteristics’ go far beyond being someone whom you trust, though this is an important quality. Plus, you must not simply revert to your spouse or child simply because of your familial closeness with them. Without further ado, the simplified list of attributes that your executor should exude is as follows:
- Your executor must not be significantly older than you and also be physically and mentally healthy.
- Your executor must have experience in handling financial documents and other legal matters.
- Your executor must have a long track record of a strong work ethic and financial fitness.
- Your executor must have qualities of patience, fairness, and also detailed-orientedness.
- Your executor must be someone whom you have personally known for years.
- Your executor must be someone who is equally trusted by your beneficiaries.
Even if you are just considering preparing a will, you must consult with one of the competent Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys from Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC. Contact our firm today.
