Executor
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An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a
An executor will make sure
A person who deals with a deceased person's property without proper authority is known as an executor
When there is no will, a person is said to have died
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.
Any person designated as an executor may choose not to administer the estate. In the U.K., upon making that choice the designated person may execute a "power reserved" letter, which will allow the person to later act as executor if the person named on the Grant of Probate is removed or is no longer able to act.[1]
Executor pay
In some countries, such as the United States, an executor is automatically entitled to compensation for his or her services, although this amount varies dramatically by jurisdiction. Unless specifically set by the will, this compensation is often determined by what is considered ″reasonable″ for the effort involved, although in a number of jurisdictions, the amount is instead set as a percentage of the overall estate. For example, in California the executor is entitled to 4% of the first $100K of estate value, 3% of the next $100K, and so on. In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the executor is not automatically entitled to compensation, although compensation can be directed within the will or on application to a court.[2]
Insurance policies
In recent years, custom "executors' insurance" policies have entered the marketplace. These are currently available in countries including Canada, England, and Wales. They are often taken up by non-professional executors—typically friends or family of the deceased—who may be worried about potentially making an error during the probate process and/or uncomfortable about exposing themselves to unlimited personal financial and legal liability. Many find such cover an attractive proposition as the vast majority of wills allow reasonable expenses, such as the cost of the policy, to be reclaimed from the deceased's estate.
See also
- Digital estate
- Estate
- Executorial trustee
- Inheritance
- Literary executor
- Probate sale
References
- ^ "Executor's Guide" (PDF). Alzheimer's Society. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Executor Pay: Fees for the Executor or Administrator of an Estate Archived 2019-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, duhaime.org retrieved 19 January 2012
External links
- Canadian legislation and regulation (searchable by Province) governing executors of estates. Via CanLII.