Tips for Choosing Your Executor

Being an executor is a time-consuming and difficult job. When choosing who you want to act as your executor, consider the following issues:

• Family or Outsider? A family member may understand your intentions best and know where to find your assets. But a professional, such as a lawyer, accountant, or corporate fiduciary, may be better at negotiating fees, selecting trust companies, and keeping the process civil. Whether you decide to go with a family member, friend, or professional, it’s always wise to choose someone younger than yourself.
• One or More? Some parents want to name their children as co-executors to treat them equally. But this often leads to arguments or one executor doing all the work. Further, any time papers need to be signed, all of the signatures must be collected. Instead, you could name one child and make the others alternates.
• What Will it Cost? Fees that executors may charge vary widely based on state laws. One way to reduce costs is to reduce the amount of assets passing through probate.
• Whom Should You Tell? Before you name your executor, make sure that person is willing and able to serve.

See Deborah L. Jacobs, Choosing the Right Executor for Your Estate, N.Y. Times, Mar. 2, 2011.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this to my attention.