12 Dumb Mistakes Executors Make

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Twelve mistakes executors make:

1. Executor delay.
2. Paying estate funds out too early.
3. Failing to make the portability election.
4. Not following the terms of the will.
5. Failing to supply all asset information.
6. Failing to communicate.
7. Confusing probate and nonprobate assets.
8. Not collecting estate funds in an estate account.
9. Getting help from friends instead of professionals.
10. Ignoring claims against the estate.
11. Self dealing.
12. Handling tangible assets under your own terms.

This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through this site does not form an attorney/client relationship.

Paul Rabalais
Estate Planning Attorney

[paultennis]

Benjamin Franklin said that "you never know a person till you've split an inheritance with them". And he was so right.

[Dbb]

I’ve handled three estates. No issues with my two brothers. My mom left an insurance and an ira to two of us. We pooled the money and split it three ways. My one brother who is fairly wealthy sent me a nice gift of money when it was all over.
Not all families are a problem.

[ParadoxReport]

Thank you for this video. Five and a half years later dealing with corruption and Florida probate court. Words cannot describe how deceitful ppl become when it comes to money.

[brandinshaeffer]

"Congratualtions" is not the word I would use for what I'm dealing with right now as the executor of my mother's will. This is like a waking nightmare.

[ProgressiveAF]

I was named as an executor to my dad's estate. The 1st thing I did was contact an estate attorney. Sure there was a $ cost to do that but having that attorney to line everything out and handle all the probate aspects made my life so much easier. It was worth the cost. I also did not charge anything as the executor. All I asked for was to be refunded for any expenses incurred.

[TheName]

As the executor of my Mom's estate (not a huge one but I still want to do it correctly) this video has made me feel less nervous about the task. So far, I've avoided those errors and can feel confident that I'm doing this right. Thanks.

[artmichel]

Absolutely outstanding information, thanks. My sister was named executor and from the beginning, I could see she was in over her head. A year later, she has had a home improvement, drives my dad's old car (not expensive), and called in a long lost second cousin to sell the house..oh, we are no longer speaking. She broke just about every rule mentioned here.

[Linward]

Here's a mistake to not make when writing a will. Don't list two siblings as executors if they are both beneficiaries of the estate. My alcoholic and borderline personality disordered sister argued over any and everything. She literally counted and divided nickels, dimes, and pennies, went through 3 different lawyers, and dragged the entire process out over 3 years. By the end of it I was begging the court to just give my sister the last 10 grand that was in the estate and whatever was left. I just wanted out of this never ending hell, to go on with my life, and never have to deal with her again. They didn't allow me to abdicate anything, therefore, the madness went on for as long as humanly possible. After the estate was finally closed I thought I'd seen and heard the last from her. Years later she was still sending me papers to sign and have notarized for things like a car, a boat, or whatever she inherited, but didn't have the title to. My dad's will was simple and straight forward, but she picked it apart, and found ways to make it as complicated as possible. That was 18 years ago, and I still never want anything more to do with her....ever.

[belleooo]

Got to lay off giving Executors grief over what are silly mistakes. I am executor of my late husbands estate. The mistakes I made left my solicitor stunned. Stupid mistakes. But with grieving widow brain, extremely sleep deprived, mistakes were inevitable. Most family appointed executors are grieving people with lives in turmoil. Sympathy and empathy should always be forefront of peoples minds always
.

[chrisjones]

Excellent video. my wife became an executor last month and it has been a nightmare so far with family members demanding items or updates who aren't even a beneficiary!

[gogussie]

I followed my dads will to the T. A daddy knows his children well ! Turned out he was soo right! 🌟

[cindywatson]

Very good information. I fell somewhat guilty to number 8, after being named an executor. While waiting for the estate account to be opened I knew there was bills to pay, I had used the cash on hand to pay those and then took the re-imbursement from the cash and kept a detailed log of what I had done. Luckily for me, I did inform the estate attorney of what I was doing and he quickly told me to stop doing that. I needed to wait until the estate fund was opened, keep track of the bills that I was paying out of pocket and then apply that debt to the estate account. Also you need to research the debt that does come in. After the death noticed was published, I received notice from an impound yard that they had a vehicle that belonged to the estate and wanted money for holding a vehicle. They were unable to tell me where the vehicle was picked up or why they had it but was able to tell me a make a model of the vehicle. After going back through all the paperwork, I wasn't able to find a title to that vehicle. I did turn the notice of debt over to the estate attorney and that I had informed the impound lot they could do whatever they felt they needed to do as I wasn't able to confirm that vehicle had been owned by the estate. There are shady people out there that will try to take advantage of an estate.

[PLAZALOT]

Speaking as someone who will be the executor of an estate in the not too distant future, this video was very informative ! You saved me from making at least one mistake and you have made me feel a bit more confident in fulfilling the role of executor ! I really like the format of your videos, valuable information straight to the point ! Thank you ! Liked and subbed !

[HeyMJ.]

Excellent series! Thank you for providing critical estate planning information! 👍🏼

[mininecessities]

I am so shocked that my brother and sister abused me when my Mom died. My brother was my best friend I had thought. Not only did my heart hurt losing my mother, I also lost my siblings. One died a month after my Mom and the other two abused me. I already owned my Mom's real property by 1/4 as it was granted to my brother and 2 of my sisters and I, years before with a life estate. But when Mom died, evil niece in law told them to change the locks and not give me key and accused me of stealing. Yes there are "sticky" fingers in the family and it wasn't me. Things started disappearing shortly after her death, things that were to go to me were gone, one sister was hiding things in her closet. It was a known family fact that the bedroom set was to go to me. I removed it from the home because I was afraid they were trying to take it from me. My brother, as executor of her personal and money assets, did not secure anything as people were going in and out of the house all the time. I made things for my Mom that was taken out of the house I had plenty of reason to try and secure what was to go to me. I was owner of the house so if my things in that house weren't being secured or kept safe by the executor what was I to do? I was never shown my Mom's checking account or $ in the bank. After my brother threw $2, 000 and got me to sign that I had received everything that I fought for 7 years for part of my Mom's oiginal photos that I still do not have because when I signed the agreement he promised to bring me 1/4 of the photos and never did. I am a senior citizen and the stress has almost killed me. now that felt good I got some of it off my chest.

[danadnauseam]

In the first large estate I handled, one of the devisees was a large charity. I had a headache explaining to their lawyer that in my state, I couldn't authorize a partial distribution without a court order. Unfortunately, two of the other devisees were college students who took forever to respond to requests to sign off on documents.

[makingtechsense]

My Dad passed away suddenly in 2006 without a will. My older brother became the executor. We were unable to find any money and only a couple of vehicles, some tools, and a flatbed trailer. My brother never filed probate and kept everything.
In 2012 my grandfather passed away. My mother was the sole benefactor but was terminally ill. She disclaimed the inheritance because she was on her own death-bed and was unable to handle the duties and stresses of managing an estate. This meant that my older brother became the executor of my grandfather's estate.
I inherited 33% of my grandfather's estate (I have two brothers) and tried and tried and tried to help my brothers process all of the belongings but they wouldn't do anything. I'm still stuck as 33% owner on two pieces of land where I am forced to pay 33% of the taxes because my brothers won't sell it.
Thankfully when my mother passed in early 2013 she had thoroughly prepared her estate after seeing the chaos caused by the poor estate planning of her parents and my father. She had given away most of her assets and left very little to her husband and a little money to each of the three children. That is the best way to plan an estate. Give it away before you die.

[siangriffiths]

Thank you so much for this. I particularly appreciate your non-judgemental approach.

[sallyrucker]

I just watched almost everything you mentioned happen. So true. An executor was assigned. The family took over dividing things before a probate was even opened. Now my boyfriends Mother’s ashes are all over the Country and the Catholic Church won’t allow her to be interred. What a mess.

[christorrance]

Thank you so much for the 12 tips. Very thought provoking and helpful. I'm going to type out the list and use it as I start on my Uncle's Arizona Estate.