Increasingly in this age where we are all living longer, we are coming across situations where elderly people are left but their spouses have gone before them, their friends have passed before them, and they have no family or have lost contact with their family, and therefore are uncertain as to who they should appoint as executor.
Regrettably, often is the case that they cannot chose anybody, simply because they have outlived the rest of their family, and under some unfortunate circumstances, their estate has passed to the crown as they have not made a will.
A professional executor maybe a consideration when family dynamics, or complex financial arrangements are factors.
One of life’s most unappealing honours, is to be selected by somebody as an executor for their will. Being an executor means walking along a grinding road, emotion, money and bureaucracy, join together in a task for which you will never receive thanks from the person who asked you to do the job in the first place.
Family dynamics dictate that adult children step up to be the executor for their parents, and spouses maybe able to do the job as well. The Americans have a term for such circumstances where there is no family, which they call ‘Solo Seniors’ – an emerging term for retirees who have no kids or spouses. This is becoming a more common trend and we suspect will continue into the future.
In such circumstances an estate planning option for the elderly is a professional executor, along with a call of service of Trust companies’ services or banks, a professional executor can manage pretty much everything in a professional unbiased manner. Once the domain of Trust companies and banks, a professional representative can be a professional who has knowledge and experience of acting as an executor.
Not just helping you with the execution of your will, but arranging your funeral, settling your accounts, and making sure your property is looked after.
A good professional executor will from time to time make contact with their clients, to ensure that their wishes are still contained within the will that has been executed, and if they wish to make any changes before they pass, that this is dealt with.
If you find yourself in a situation as above, please contact us to discuss a way we may help.