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So You're an Executor of an Estate - What Now?Date:
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Estate & Will Disputes
A Will’s main purpose is to record what will happen to your estate once you are gone. When making a Will, you will name one or more people in your Will as executor. The executor’s role is to be responsible for the process of carrying out your wishes. Quite often, Mum or Dad will name their children as the executors of their estate, which means this could be you. Dealing with the death of a loved one is a very stressful time. Whether or not you knew you were the executor beforehand, the death of the Willmaker triggers some extra responsibilities for you as an executor. Given the potential consequences for you personally in being an executor of an estate, it is a role that needs to be taken seriously, and quite often requires you to put your own grief and emotions to one side whilst you carry out those responsibilities. So, what are they? Obviously, each estate will be different as it will depend on the terms of the Will, but generally speaking, the most important responsibilities are:
As an executor, if you breach any of your responsibilities, you may become personally liable to pay to or reimburse the estate for any loss and damage suffered by the estate because of your breach. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you comply with all of your responsibilities as an executor. Don’t panic if (and more likely when) the time comes where you to act as executor. At Mason Lawyers, we guide you through all the aspects of estate administration (including helping you will all your responsibilities), to make the process as easy as possible no matter how complex the estate may be.
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