What do executors of estates manage?

Estate plans are not simple matters, and the people who oversee them – executors – do not have an easy task at hand.

What exactly do these executors have to manage? What do they hold responsibility for when it comes to keeping an estate plan processed as necessary?

Handling financial matters

Forbes discusses the duties that executors carry out. They essentially act as the multi-talented manager of the entire estate plan. They must collaborate and communicate with anyone else working on estate matters, such as financial advisors or attorneys, and ensure that everything gets done on time and correctly.

They also handle the funeral in most cases. They will take money from the estate itself to pay for matters like the casket or urn, burial or cremation services, a plot of land, a headstone or other funerary expenses.

Dealing with bills

On top of that, they also use estate funds to manage bills and debts. They will take that money and repay any outstanding debts. They cancel any unnecessary ongoing bills such as the internet service provided to a home, while simultaneously maintaining and keeping up with necessary bills like electricity. They also file the decedent’s final taxes in many cases.

Communicating with others

In addition, these people also need to have strong communication skills, especially as they will handle grieving loved ones in the midst of a tragedy and tackle delicate matters like asset division. They do this all while handling their own grief, too.

In short, an estate executor has a necessary but taxing job which requires a great deal of effort and energy from them.