As a New York resident, you dedicate yourself to the creation and maintenance of your estate. Your estate plan should hold equal importance, especially as it is crucial for your loved ones.
Thus, you need to start off with a strong foundation. This means selecting an executor you can rely on. But how do you do that? What are the best traits that good executors share?
Choose someone with a good skillset
Huffpost discusses choosing an executor for your will. They start with professional traits, which experts often consider more important than potential personal connections. Professional traits include:
- High skill with organization and time management
- The ability to self-manage
- Setting and reaching deadlines without trouble
- Strong communication and people skills
Executors should have experience working with legal and financial professionals. After all, they will handle communication between financial advisors and your lawyer or legal team. They will also handle your grieving beneficiaries, which is where communication and people skills come in handy.
Finally, they should be capable of managing themselves. No one will oversee their progress through the probate process. They need to have the motivation and ability to see it through to the end on their own.
Give them time to connect
But personal connections are still important. You want your executor to understand your family situation. You also want them to have a good idea of who you are as a person. This way, they can represent your wishes and desires accurately after your death. Many people gravitate toward family members because of this. But if you plan things out well in advance, you can select an executor with the right professional skills who gets to know you and your family situation over time.