How do I choose the right executor for my will?

What an estate trustee actually does

An estate trustee locates the will, arranges for its proof, sometimes through a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, sometimes not, identifies and secures the estate's property, pays debts and the deceased's final taxes, and distributes what remains to the beneficiaries named in the will. The role is a fiduciary one: an estate trustee must act in the beneficiaries' interests, keep proper accounts, and can be held personally liable for mistakes.

Even a straightforward estate can take a year or more to finish properly, between waiting periods, tax filings, and the time it takes to sell or transfer property.

Traits worth more than birth order

• Comfortable with paperwork, deadlines, and financial institutions
• Willing to communicate with beneficiaries, including when the news is unwelcome
• Not in a position to benefit personally from delay or from favouring one beneficiary over another
• Likely to still be capable and available when you die, which is why an alternate matters
• Able to work with a lawyer and accountant rather than trying to do everything alone

None of this requires financial expertise; an estate trustee can hire help and pay for it from the estate. It does require judgement and follow-through.

Naming more than one executor

Joint executors generally must act together, which protects against one of them acting alone but can deadlock the estate if they disagree. Before naming co-executors, consider whether the people involved actually work well together, not just whether it seems fair to include both.

A will can also divide responsibility, for instance naming one estate trustee for a business interest and another for everything else, but that split needs careful drafting so authority doesn't overlap or leave a gap.

When a professional makes more sense

A trust company, or as a last resort the Public Guardian and Trustee, can act as estate trustee when no suitable person is available or willing. A professional estate trustee is compensated from the estate on the same basis a lay executor could also claim, under the customary tariff courts apply.

This is worth considering for a complex estate, an estate likely to see conflict among beneficiaries, or when every plausible candidate is also a major beneficiary with something to gain from a particular outcome.

Compensation and thanks are not the same thing

An estate trustee is entitled to compensation for the work, calculated against a customary tariff tied to the value and complexity of the estate, whether or not the will mentions it. Naming someone without discussing this can leave them assuming the role is unpaid, or leave beneficiaries surprised when a claim is made.

Say so in the will, or at least in the conversation before you finalize it, so expectations match on both sides.