You have a lot of decisions to make when you’re creating your estate plan. Some of these center around what will happen to your assets, but there are others. A key decision is who will serve as the administrator of your estate.
The estate administrator (often known as the executor) is responsible for gathering your assets, notifying beneficiaries, paying debts, taking care of paperwork and distributing assets. These are important responsibilities, so it’s critical that the person is ready and able to handle them when you pass away.
What qualities are valuable in an administrator?
Estate administrators should be organized, reliable and able to communicate well. They should also be able to handle finances in a responsible manner. Many of the tasks they must handle require them to understand applicable laws and apply them to the estate.
The estate administrator should also be trustworthy since they’re dealing with financial records and accounts. They may also be privy to sensitive family information, so they should be able to uphold confidentiality. Your estate administrator may have to handle complicated family relationships. It’s important that they be able to remain calm and treat everyone respectfully.
The location of the estate administrator is also important because some responsibilities need to be handled in person. For example, they may have to go into banks or appear in court. These are much easier if they live in the area. It’s possible for a person who lives out of the area to be an estate administrator, but it can be challenging.
Having experienced estate planning guidance can help you make the best decisions as you choose your administrator and others who will have fiduciary duties.
