Executors & Trustees
Executors are the people you appoint in your will to administer your estate when you die. It is a potentially time consuming job, and so you should chose someone that you know has the time, skills, and willingness to deal with your estate. Your executors will:-
- ESTABLISH THE ESTATE – ie obtain date of death values for all assets and liabilities
- NOTIFY ORGANISATIONS – eg Passport Agency, clubs and memberships, etc
- PROBATE – apply for probate (if it is needed)
- INHERITANCE TAX – pay what ever inheritance tax falls due
- REALISE ASSETS & PAY BILLS – once probate has been granted
- LEGACIES – pay any fixed legacies that feature in the will
- RESIDUARY ESTATE – pay out the residue of your estate (into whatever shares the will defines)
- INCOME TAX – settle your income tax up to the date of death, and separately for the period of administration
Throughout, an executor should keep all of your beneficiaries updated on the progress of the administration of the estate.
Trustees are the people that hold any money on any trusts that the will makes (on behalf of someone else named in the will) after the administration of the estate is complete. They don’t have to be, but they are very often the same people as the appointed executors. The sorts of trusts you might expect to see in a will might include:-
- GIFTS TO CHILDREN – gifts to children under 18 (‘minor beneficiaries’) must be held until they reach 18 (or an older age if specified in the will
- LIFE INTEREST TRUSTS – for example a gift allowing someone to live in a house (but not own it)
- DISCRETIONARY TRUSTS – giving the trustees total discretion as to who gets what and when
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