One of the most important decisions you can ever make is creating an estate plan. With one in place, you can have peace of mind knowing that your and your loved ones’ futures are protected.
But as you continue with your estate planning process, one of the critical decisions you will need to make is the choice of your estate’s personal representative. This is a huge decision and learning what to look for in this individual can help you make the right choice.
But first, what is the job of a personal representative?
The individual you designate as your estate’s personal representative will be responsible for a number of tasks essential to settling your estate. Some of these tasks include:
- Filing the paperwork – the personal representative you settle for will have to handle all the paperwork related to your estate’s probate. They will be responsible for determining the right court documents for the probate process.
- Identifying the parties – this individual will also be responsible for identifying and notifying your creditors and beneficiaries during the probate process.
- Create an inventory of your assets – it is the personal representative’s job to identify all your assets and debts during probate.
Finding the right person for the job
As you can see, the individual you nominate as your estate representative has enormous responsibilities. While there are no cut-and-dried rules for choosing one, here are two qualities you need to keep in mind when choosing a personal representative for your estate.
Honesty
You want an estate representative that is trustworthy. This means that you want a person who will act in the best interest of your estate and heirs.
Competence
You want an estate representative who can get things done right. Remember, probate is a legal process with lots of paperwork and important timelines to observe. Thus, you want an individual who can handle these duties in a timeline manner.
The importance of choosing the right personal representative cannot be overstated. Find out how you can safeguard your rights and interests while designating an individual for this role.
