Two Tips for People Who’ve Been Appointed As Executors of Their Living Loved Ones’ Wills

Law Blog

Here are some tips for those whose loved ones have asked them to be the executors of their wills

They should talk to the person who wrote the will about how they can best protect their valuables in the future

One of the common duties assigned to the executor is to protect the deceased's valuables that were included in the will, which are to be left to the named beneficiaries until these items can be given to these individuals. It's important for an executor who will need to perform this duty to talk to their loved one about their valuables. They should, first and foremost, discuss where these items are currently stored and how the executor can access them in the event of their loved one dying. If for example, these items are being kept in a storage unit, the person who wrote the will should ensure the executor knows where the key to the unit is kept and where the unit is located; this will enable them to quickly access these items and give them to the beneficiaries listed in the will when the time comes to carry out this duty.

Additionally, they should talk about how the will writer would like these valuables to be protected if it takes some time for the executor to track down the beneficiaries. For example, if the valuables are being kept in the person's home, and they live alone, then the executor might need to discuss how they could secure the empty property when this person passes away, to protect these valuables. They might want to suggest fitting an alarm system or making the property's fencing more secure.

They should familiarise themselves with funeral arranging  

Another task often assigned to the executors of wills is the arrangement of the deceased person's funeral. If a person who has been named as an executor is unfamiliar with this process, they should consider learning about it now, whilst their loved one is still alive. The reason for this is that there is a lot that goes into planning a funeral and it might be difficult for a grieving executor to handle this process (along with all of their other will-related responsibilities) if they know nothing about it.

Researching this process, and talking to their loved one about how to fulfil any funeral-related instructions they've included in their will, could prevent the executor from getting overwhelmed when this person passes away, and ensure that they don't misunderstand any of the person's funeral instructions and, as a result of this, don't follow them. 

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31 January 2023

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