Do You Want To Be the Executor?

BusinessWeek online has a nice story (here) about the risks of acting as executor.  As the article puts it,

If asked to be an executor, you may feel flattered, or loath to turn down a loved one. But think carefully before accepting. Executors are entitled by law to be paid, but the work is generally tedious and time-consuming, even if you farm some of it out to professionals. Moreover, if you make mistakes, you may damage relationships with other heirs or even be held personally liable.

There are usually three hot-button areas that can cause you trouble as executor:

1. Doing your job.  This is obvious, a no-brainer.

2. Doing things in a timely manner.  I'm working on an estate matter right now where the decedents, a married couple who owned a condo in downtown Chicago, died in 2002 and 2003.  The executor just recently put their condo on the market -- it's been sitting vacant for more than three years (the executor didn't bother trying to rent it out, either).  Big mistake.

3. Keep the beneficiaries informed and up to date.  Think of yourself as working for the beneficiaries of the estate.  Give them updates at regular intervals -- ask them WHEN (and how) they want to be updated.  This is especially important if you are thinking of taking an executor's fee -- you'll need to produce timesheets showing exactly what you did to benefit the estate.