Before you agree to serve as an executor, understand the task in front of you. Moreover, once you understand the task in front of you, then you can make an informed decision on whether to accept the responsibility or walk away. Most common executors will need to consult an estate attorney or an attorney knowledgeable in probate law for their state.

Deciding on the Wills

In my situation, there were two wills. So, I contacted an attorney skilled in probate law to review the wills and to help decide which will would be best to execute. One will, signed and witnessed, was valid. The other will, not signed or witnessed, was invalid. After reviewing the unsigned will, the most recent will, the attorney informed me of the following:

1) The will is invalid because the signatures of the testator (decedent) and witnesses were missing. 

2) Although you can execute invalid wills, the state of Massachusetts will step in and determine the beneficiaries based on Massachusetts estate law.

Understanding the Task

Although outdated, I immediately chose the valid will. With the decision made, the attorney began the review of the valid will. The attorney rattled off a preliminary list of the following tasks needed to close the estate:

1. Apply for an EIN number.
2. Open an estate account.
3. Secure all personal property of the decedent.
4. Provide an inventory of the decedent’s personal possessions and assets.
5. Provide an estimated value of all possessions and assets.
6. Collect all the assets and close all accounts.
7. Sell the decedent’s rental property.
8. Deal with the existing tenants.
9. Close the business.
10. Pay all the remaining bills.
11. File final taxes.
12. Provide a final accounting for the estate.

After the attorney went through this list he mentioned a couple of other details:

1. Since there was no mention in the will about distributing the decedent’s personal possessions, it was at my discretion to perform such a distribution in any way I deemed reasonable.

2. Two of the beneficiaries are charities. This means, in Massachusetts, the process will involve the Attorney General.

Should I Serve as Executor or Not?

Now that I had a general idea of what it would take to settle this estate, I began to have second thoughts. As these thoughts were going through my mind, the fact that I never agreed to serve as executor crossed my mind. In addition, while going through these thoughts, the attorney piled on by informing me that closing the estate would take a formal probate process. Once I heard that piece of information I asked the attorney if I had to serve as executor since I never signed anything agreeing to serve. The attorney told me I didn’t, but the attorney thought I could handle the process considering my background. So, I decided to sleep on the idea. However, I knew if I accepted the task of administering this estate, it would be quite a journey.

Was this article helpful? Share your comments of questions in the comment box below.