Executors and Trustees

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This information has been provided by Australian Lawyer, Peter Janssen

Executors & Trustees

Executors

An Executor is a person or persons who you select in your Will to carry out all of your arrangements after your death. Their duties include:

Making your funeral and burial arrangements
Paying your debts
Arranging for the distribution of your assets to the beneficiaries you have selected
In general, representing you (ie. your estate)

You can select one or more Executors, although more than two becomes impractical. The persons you select should be persons not only that you trust, but who also have the organisational skills necessary to do the job. You may for instance, dearly love and trust your brother, Bob, but know that he is hopeless with money matters. Better then to select cousin Mary, who may not be quite as close, but is still a trusted relative and is also a Bookkeeper.

When selecting an Executor, you may also like to keep the following in mind:

Consider selecting 2 Executors who act jointly in distributing your estate. That way, each acts as a watchdog on the other, and also they can share the duties, which can get heavy.

Your Executor can also be a beneficiary (for instance, your partner, parent, or child)
If you select only one Executor, consider selecting a ‘back up’ in the event that your first Executor dies before you
If you do not have a close relative or friend that is suitable, you can nominate a Solicitor or the Public Trustee. They will charge your estate for this service.

Executors as Trustees

The Executor will distribute your Estate to the beneficiaries you select in your Will. However, not all beneficiaries will take their gift straight away. The following are example of beneficiaries that cannot hold their gift in their own right:

Children (under 18 years of age)
Persons who have a legal disability (for instance mental incapacity)

In these cases, the Executor has an extra duty, namely, to act as a Trustee for that person until they can take the gift for themselves. So in the case of infant children, that will be until they turn 18 yrs. For some beneficiaries, this may be for the term of their life (eg for the mentally disabled, or comatozed person).

The Executor will need to prudently invest the monies until the beneficiaries can take the gift. How the Executor invests the money is governed by legislation, and you should consult a Solicitor before making financial arrangements.

Browse other topics:

Making/Cancelling a Will
Funeral Arrangements
Executors & Trustees
Beneficiaries - Selecting or leaving out
Guardians
Life Event - when do I really need a Will?
Arranging the Deceased's Affairs
Guardianship and Administration Tribunal
Superannuation - who will it go to if I die?

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