Wills question:

I have been named as the executor of my mother’s will. What will I have to do when she dies? She is very wealthy and I’m concerned about the workload involved.

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Good Lawyer Guide's response

As an executor or personal representative you will ultimately be responsible for ensuring your mother’s estate is gathered in and distributed according to the terms of her will. Essentially, you will be responsible for ensuring your mother’s wishes are followed. This means you and any other person named as an executor would need to draw up a list of the assets in your mother’s estate as well as any debts.

You will need to ensure any item such as jewellery bequeathed to a person named in the will are valued and then given to the beneficiary. All other assets are ‘collected in’. In other words, cash is withdrawn from any accounts, valuable belongings such as antiques are sold, shares are cashed and so on. Any houses or land will also be sold or given to whoever is entitled under the will. The proceeds are put into an account of the solicitors acting for the estate and when it is time for the distribution to take place, the money is split according to the terms of the will.

Don’t be unduly concerned about the workload involved because solicitors will need to be involved if her estate is considerable and they will do most of the work on your behalf.