Would you leave your money to a stranger?
Have you considered who you would like to take care of money and assets when you’re no longer around? Perhaps you have someone that stands out as the ideal candidate. Or perhaps someone stands out as precisely the wrong candidate. In either case, choosing an executor of your Will (whom you trust) is crucial to getting it into the right hands.
What is the Executor of a Will?
An executor is the person you appoint in your will to carry out your final wishes after your passing. This person has the responsibility of actioning your final wishes and carrying out any instructions that you’ve left.
Your executor will manage your affairs after your passing. They’ll handle tasks like settling debts, distributing assets, and addressing legal matters. This ensures your loved ones can focus on remembering you, not on the complexities of your estate.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Executor
Choosing the right executor isn’t just a formality – it’s a decision that can have a significant impact on how smoothly things go after your passing.
The wrong choice can lead to delays, disputes among family members, or even financial mishandling. The ideal executor is someone who understands your wishes, is organised, and can stay level-headed in what is sure to be a difficult time for those you leave behind.
What Happens if You Don’t Choose an Executor?
If you don’t name an executor in your will, the decision about who manages your estate will be out of your hands. Having an executor is a necessary part of having a will. So in most cases, those without an executor likely won’t have a will either. If you die without a will, it’s called ‘dying intestate’.
The exact rules around this tend to differ based on country. In Australia, if someone dies intestate, the remaining family members can apply to become the administrator of the estate – not the executor. Usually, this is the closest next of kin.
There is an order in which your assets are divided under Australian law. They would initially go to your spouse. If there is more than a certain amount of money in your estate ($500,000 in Victoria, for example) once all debts are paid, then a portion of those assets would also be passed down to your children. If there is no spouse or children, then the estate would be passed along to parents, then siblings, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, then cousins – in that order.
How to Select the Right Executor
Given the range of responsibilities that the executor needs to take on after your passing, choosing the right one is crucial. But what are the right qualities to have in an executor?
To start with, your executor should be trustworthy, organised, and financially responsible. Your chosen executor should have the emotional stability to handle any extra challenges that may arise during the grieving period and simply be available to dedicate time to the role.
Another soft skill that helps is great communication. Your executor will have to coordinate family members, lawyers, and any other involved parties. It helps to choose someone who is close by, as organising a deceased estate from the other side of the world is an unenviable task for anyone.
As you can see, there are quite a few boxes in the above description to be ticked; finding one person that fits them all isn’t easy. So it’s worth noting that you can select more than one executor for your will. These multiple executors can share the load and responsibility of managing your estate, but they will need to agree – so choose wisely!
To finish off, remember that your executor is one of the most important decisions you’ll make and isn’t something you want left to chance. By making this decision now, you can prepare your executor for the responsibility when the time comes, and feel comfort in the knowledge that your final wishes are in safe hands.
