are the people appointed in your will who will deal with your financial affairs after your death:
They will need to locate the will
- It makes sense to tell your Executors that they are the Executors and where the will is being kept to ensure that they can access it quickly.
They will need to locate your assets
– including bank and building society accounts, life insurance policies etc. Compile a list and keep it up to date.
They will need to distribute any cash and/or items
in accordance with any directions in your will and then sell the rest.
When money is being left to children
under the age of 18, it will be held in Trust by Trustees, who are appointed in your will and may also be Executors. You can choose what powers the Trustees have (and don’t have) while they are looking after the Trust Fund.
There are options
that can be detailed in your will that will govern the way the Trust is set up and run.
- At what age children receive the Trust Fund?
- When and under what circumstances money being held in the Trust Fund can be used for children’s benefit
- Whether money can be made available for Guardians
In choosing Executors and/or Trustees,
you should consider:
Age –
will they be able to cope with the work involved in realising your estate? Are they likely to survive to the end of the Trust
Location –
will they be able to deal with the logistics of selling and or clearing a house, for example?
Finances –
do they have the skills to look after and invest a potentially large sum of money? They will be able to take expert advice but will still need to make decisions based on that advice.
Moral issues –
do the Trustees have the same outlook on life as you do, that will see money being spent on your children as you would.