Take Care of the Executor

A person might want to consider providing enough personal information to help an executor perform his or her duties. A person might want to consider the following:

• An executor should be aware of the location of the important documents that comprise a person’s estate plan. This includes that person’s will. A person should make an effort to tell the executor where the will is located and any information that person will need to access the will. For example, if a person stores a will with the attorney that drafted the will, the testator might want to consider telling the executor who has the original and how the attorney can be reached. A person might also want to provide information about funeral arrangements, assets, debts, insurance policies, stocks, bonds, etc. 
• With the rise in digital assets, a person might want to consider making a similar list with all of that person’s digital accounts with the information needed to access those accounts. It might also be helpful to leave a list of wishes providing the executor guidance on how to deal with these assets.
• Finally, a person might want to consider leaving information on how to deal with a particular asset, such as a person’s wine collection or an antique vase.

See Leanne Kaufman, Estate Planning: Taking Care of Your Executor, Financial Post, June 13, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.