Wills - How to Choose an Executor

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alasta

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#299440 7-Sep-2022 18:33

I am in the process of setting up a will. I have no family and intend to leave my assets to one close friend and a couple of charities.

I am a bit confused as to who I should appoint as an executor in this situation. The only person close enough to me is my friend referred to above, but I've heard that it's best to appoint someone who is not a beneficiary of the will, and she's not great at managing formalities like this anyway.

Are there independent professionals who can be nominated as an executor? Or does it have to be someone with a personal relationship to the deceased?

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#2964390 7-Sep-2022 18:42

If you get a lawyer to prepare your Will, the lawyer's firm will usually be prepared to act as your Executor, but they will charge for this service. Ask the lawyer.

If you haven't got a lawyer to prepare your Will, remember the old legal saying "Where there's a Will, there's a ~~way~~ loophole"
😂

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Eva888

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#2964397 7-Sep-2022 18:49

Or you could use Public Trust for free, but I believe they take hefty fees after your demise.

deadlyllama

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#2964401 7-Sep-2022 18:56

As @PolicyGuy says, your lawyer can do it. As can Public Trust. Of course they will charge the estate for their services. Public Trust did a good job with my aunt's estate a couple of years back. If you're happy with your lawyer, just use them. When writing the will you do have the option of asking "how complicated/expensive would this be to execute and are there any changes I could make to simplify things?"

If you're leaving a substantial amount to your friend you might want to ask your lawyer about how flexible that could be e.g. if there's a house involved, making sure things are flexible enough for her to say "I'd like the house not cash."

Likewise if there are specific physical items -- make sure people can find them!

Leaving money to overseas charities can be messy. Try donating to the EFF without a credit card :P -- the solution was I made the donation with my card and Public Trust reimbursed me.

If your friend isn't great at managing formal stuff then I'd assume she's not a good choice. I'm theoretically good at that stuff but I'd still lean on my lawyer for advice. The recent estates I have been involved with were for people without wills (not the aforementioned aunt, she was well organised) so there was a LOT of leaning on lawyers...

Lias

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#2964405 7-Sep-2022 19:37

As someone who is currently acting as the administrator (effectively executor for someone who died intestate) it's a huge PITA.. I'd never knowingly be someone's executor now. Use a lawyer IMHO.

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BarTender

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#2964430 7-Sep-2022 21:35

+1 for a lawyer as the executor, they will understand the implications and process that needs to be followed. It's not the gift you want for your friend especially if she is not practically minded. Otherwise you could always donate it to the Greens, as I am sure they would gratefully accept your generous donation and perform the function of the executor as well. 😂

deadlyllama

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#2964433 7-Sep-2022 21:39

Lias:

As someone who is currently acting as the administrator (effectively executor for someone who died intestate) it's a huge PITA.. I'd never knowingly be someone's executor now. Use a lawyer IMHO.

That's been my PITA for the last 3 years (!) too. With a second family member dying intestate who was supposed to sign paperwork relating to the first family member who died...

Having been through the experience, though, I'd be quite happy to be a relative's executor if their will was reasonably simple.

alasta

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#2964560 8-Sep-2022 09:40

Thanks everyone. I was intending to get a lawyer to draft the will but didn't realise that they could also act as an executor. I've just checked with them and they're happy to do this, so that's a good outcome.

Appreciate all the advice.

MikeAqua

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#2964569 8-Sep-2022 09:54

One piece of advice is to make your will as simple as possible. That way, less of the value of your estate is consumed by your lawyers and more goes to your intended recipients.

Mike

networkn

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#2964597 8-Sep-2022 10:52

Eva888: Or you could use Public Trust for free, but I believe they take hefty fees after your demise.

I am sure there are many people who have used their service successfully over the time they have operated and have long held a positive reputation in NZ, however, my experience with them was nothing short of shocking, cost us tens of thousands of dollars and crossed many professional lines.

Had we all not have been so consumed by grief I am confident we would have had a case against them, and as such I can no longer recommend them.

Their handling of it also caused a massive rift in the family between two people that was never able to be repaired.

networkn

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#2964611 8-Sep-2022 11:40

MikeAqua:

One piece of advice is to make your will as simple as possible. That way, less of the value of your estate is consumed by your lawyers and more goes to your intended recipients.

I also agree with this advice!

MikeAqua

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#2964621 8-Sep-2022 11:52

networkn:

I am sure there are many people who have used their service successfully over the time they have operated and have long held a positive reputation in NZ, however, my experience with them was nothing short of shocking, cost us tens of thousands of dollars and crossed many professional lines.

We had a bad experience with them, when my mother died. They were no longer her executor but thought they should be. They were simply chasing a percentage of the estate value, which included half of farm etc etc. We would have had to sell the house, farm, everything to pay them. Caused us a lot of stress and anguish at a difficult time and some added cost. After a sit down meeting with my father and myself, they backed off.

Mike

tdgeek

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#2964669 8-Sep-2022 14:20

deadlyllama:

That's been my PITA for the last 3 years (!) too. With a second family member dying intestate who was supposed to sign paperwork relating to the first family member who died...

Having been through the experience, though, I'd be quite happy to be a relative's executor if their will was reasonably simple.

I am one, the Will is simple, but the Will is not the issue, people do funny things when money is involved (the lawyer said this also at the beginning) , and in my case, I am still shocked about it.

"Show me the money"

Never again

mdf

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#2964675 8-Sep-2022 14:23

+1 to what others have said about lawyer as executor.

But just wanted to say kudos for having a will. For anyone that doesn't already have one, a will - any will - will almost certainly be better for the vast majority of people than no will at all. And will save your loved ones a lot of unnecessary pain and hassle once you're gone. Also bear in mind you will need to review (and possible re-execute) your will on significant life events - getting married, becoming separated, having kids etc.

If I can also make a plug for enduring powers of attorney. Losing your mental capacity can almost be worse than dying, but just IMO. Not needed for everyone, but if you have a partner and/or kids, something to consider.

Further information:

Community Law wills
Community Law EPAs
Online will and EPA generator (disclaimer: a couple of buddies of mine run this website; there are other options - but typically "free" isn't really zero cost).

alasta

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#2964699 8-Sep-2022 15:30

I have to confess that I had put off writing a will until I was old enough not to have any future "significant life events" as I couldn't bear the thought of having to constantly review the will and potentially pay a lawyer to change it. In hindsight I still should have done it sooner.

Now I just need to decide whether I want to be buried or cremated!

Eva888

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#2964723 8-Sep-2022 16:54

Am wondering if it would be legally binding to write a very simple will ones self, witnessed by two people. I, Insert name, leave my house, car and all my money and shares bla bla to Joe Bloggs. Signed and witnessed. Surely that would be clear enough to a judge. I looked at some NZ online Will templates that were quite complex Our old wills are so out of date and so many pages of waffle long it’s time to consider alternatives. Our old lawyer retired and we haven’t needed such services.

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