This article, written for Forbes, discusses the importance of the people who will make the decisions for an estate once somebody has died – or in some cases, while they are still living. It refers to them as ‘time bombs,’ as they can make or break how one’s estate is handled. The article does not beat around the bush – when people are involved in personal decisions that they are not necessarily prepared for, or intimately involved with, how they handle the estate and the beneficiaries of said estate, it can be awkward and difficult.
The article lays out the various roles that many people can have in the handling of an estate, from the trustee, to the executor of a will, to the person who oversees financial accounts. It notes that, while in certain situations, two people can oversee the same facet of an estate, but that they should be aware of this fact. Many estates accidentally appoint numerous people to roles that overlap, due to estates being planned out and changed over the course of a lifetime. The article examines numerous points and tips that an individual can take when drawing up a trust or a will, in order to make the process as smooth and as efficient as possible.
