In the estate planning process, you may select a loved one in your will to serve as the executor of your estate. However, executors in New Jersey have many duties and obligations and not everyone is up to the task. The following are some issues to discuss with the person you would like to serve as executor before drawing up the paperwork.
It takes time to administer an estate
The administration of an estate can be a time-consuming process, sometimes taking as long as one or two years. It takes many phone calls, trips to the courthouse, estate sales, visits to the post office and more. This can be difficult for some people to manage, especially during a time of grief.
Estate administration is not always easy
Estate administration is not an easy process for everyone. It requires a great deal of organization and a certain amount of financial and legal knowledge. If a person is disorganized, is not financially savvy or does not like to pay attention to detail or is unfamiliar with the legal responsibilities of an executor they may not be up to the task of estate administration.
Being an executor can mean incurring tangential expenses
If you want to choose someone who lives in another state to be the executor of your estate, you will want to make sure they can afford to do so. They will have to travel to your hometown a certain number of times, and unless the estate is covering their travel costs, these costs will have to come out of their own pocketbook.
Discuss your plans with your chosen executor before signing the paperwork
Ultimately, if you have someone in mind that you want to serve as executor of your estate, it is important to have an open and honest discussion with them before executing your will. Making sure they will be capable of fulfilling this role and that they want to fulfill this role can make your choice a solid one and make the estate administration process run smoothly when the time comes.
