I was fortunate enough to contribute a very small portion to a recent article by Sheryl Nance-Nash for The Faster Times titled "How to Be a Good Executor." In all Ms. Nance-Nash's article provides a very nice overview of the primary things an executor must be aware of and how to best accomplish the many tasks at hand.
Here in Wisconsin we use the term Personal Representative in plan of Executor or Executrix. However, the role and job description is identical. If I were to highlight three things that make a good personal representative I would boil the list down to the following:
- Well organized and an attention to detail;
- Has the time and inclination to deal with the probate process and the various parties involved; and
- Financially competent, at least to the extent of being able to balance a checkbook and maintain financial records.
Another area of importance is a familiarity with or working knowledge of different categories of assets, especially if the decedent owned special assets such closely-held business interests, collectibles, unique or complex financial instruments, or a number of digital assets. The last category is of growing importance in our current technology age.
I will be starting a series of posts focusing on digital assets later this week, but I wanted to mention a new service available to digital asset owners to assist with the estate planning for that class of property. Entrustet.com is an online service that aims to allow people to quickly, easily and securely protect their digital
assets at the time of their passing. As part of my series on digital assets I will take a deeper look at not only the unique issues we face during the estate planning process but also the probate and administration implications that arise in regards to digital assets. As times change and technology continues to advance our Internet presence expands exponentially. Proactively addressing those issues goes a long way to ensure that the client's wishes are carried out and that the process is much more manageable for the client's family in an already trying time.
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