Duties of an executor
The Duties of an executor are all explained below: for any more information please contact us on 0800 731 8722
Duties of an executor is a legal term referring to a person named by a maker of a will, or selected by the testator, to carry out the commands of the will.
The executor is the person accountable for offering the will for probate, although it is not categorically compulsory that he or she do so. The executor’s duties in addition include the disbursement of property to the beneficiaries written in the will, obtaining information about any other possible heirs, collecting and arranging for payment of amount outstanding of the estate and approving or disapproving creditors’ claims. An executor also makes certain estate taxes are calculated, compulsory forms are filed and tax payments made, and in all ways assists the attorney for the estate. Furthermore the executor makes all donations as left in bequests to charitable and other organizations as directed in the will. In nearly all circumstances the executor is the delegate of the estate for all purposes, and has the power to sue or be sued on behalf of the estate. The executor also holds legal title to the estate property, but may not use that property for the executor’s own benefit unless expressly permitted by the terms of the will.
A person who deals with a departed person’s property with no proper authority is known as an executor de son tort. Such a person’s actions may well subsequently be ratified by the lawful executors or administrators if the events do not contradict the substantive provisions of the deceased’s will or the rights of heirs at law.
Where there is no will, a person is believed to have died intestate. As a conclusion, there can be no actual ‘testimony’ to follow, and therefore there can be no executor. If there is no will or where the executors named in a will do not desire to act, an administrator of the deceased’s estate could instead be appointed. In England and Wales, when a person dies intestate in a nursing home, and has no family members who can be traced, those responsible for their care automatically become their executors, a fact which “few realise.
Under Scottish law, a personal representative of any kind is referred to as an executor, using executor nominate to refer to an executor and executor dative to an administrator.
