The Roles and Responsibilities of an Executor
If you have a family member who died recently, it will be necessary for you to find out if he had left a will. The will is a legal document which contains all of deceased loved one’s wants and wishes related to his funerals.
In order for the will to be followed, an executor is usually assigned to carry out the terms. The executor must work closely with the family members of the deceased because they are also knowledgeable about the funeral planning.
The responsibility of an executor is broad. Here are the things that he is tasked to do.
- Since the will is going to show how the deceased would want to be buried either through cremation or the traditional burial, it will be the responsibility of the executor to make sure that this is followed. He needs to make necessary arrangements regarding the handling and the disposition of the remains.
- Aside from thinking about the funeral of the deceased, he should also keep in touch with all of the beneficiaries of the estate including their complete names and their respective addresses as well. All of the beneficiaries included in the last will should be notified.
- In order for the estate to be released to the beneficiaries, all expenses, taxes and debts must be paid off and it will be the task of the executor to do this. This area is a common ground for error among executors because they often mix up their money from the money of the deceased and this could lead to confusion. All taxes and expenses for the estate can be considered part of the funeral prices.
- If the deceased owns a joint property with another individual who is still alive, the executor must contact that other person and tell him about the death of his property partner. He may or may not initiate the transfer of the title since the partner can do this by himself without the assistance of the executor.
- An executor must also secure all of the properties and valuables included in the estate of the deceased.
