[This is the first part of my notes on how to act as an executor. When I get the rest done, and when the knowledgeable people here correct my mistakes and draw attention to my oversights, it might evolve into a useful key post. That's the intention, anyway.]
If you are appointed as executor of a will, you are being asked to take on a great responsibility: to take possession of all the assets of the deceased, pay all debts, and then share out those assets in accordance with the terms of the will.
One way to proceed is to engage a solicitor to do the work. The executor still has some things to do, but the solicitor normally guides him or her through the process. Of course, this gives rise to fees and expenses. It is a good idea to discuss these at the time the solicitor is being appointed so that there are no surprises later on.
The main purpose of this post, however, is to discuss how you might proceed if you decide to execute the will yourself.
I start by giving you an opinion that I hold strongly, but with which you are free to disagree: do not take on this work unless you
Before you take any practical steps, I recommend that you get a notebook in which you keep track of all that you have done, and you set up a system of financial records so that neither the estate nor you lose out financially because of your losing track of things.
The first thing to do is take possession of the will. This is an extremely important document. Make sure that it is kept safe, and do not write on it or mark it in any way. Then get a death certificate from the registrar for the place in which the death occured. The death certificate and will together are the basic proof that you are entitled to act as the representative of the deceased person. You should then turn your attention to getting a Grant of Probate, which is an official document that declares that you have proved your right to execute the will. This process takes some months, and there is an intermediate period where you are in charge, but your powers to act are limited.
You need to advance on two fronts in the early stages, the practical one and the legal one. The two things overlap a good deal.
In the interval, there might be things you have to do.
Be prepared for some things that might upset or irritate you.
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The swearing-in of the executor is done at the Probate Office in Dublin or, if the estate is outside the greater Dublin area, the executor can apply to the appropriate District Probate Registry. While a report on assets and liabilitiies is made with the initial application for probate, a more complete statement is required at this stage. This is known as the Inland Revenue Affidavit, sometimes referred to as Form CA24. Its main purpose is to allow the Revenue Commissioners check for the possible liabilty of any beneficiary to Capital Acquisitions Tax. Two copies are required, one of which is forwarded by the Probate Office to the Revenue Commissioners. It is a lengthy form (20 pages) and, at first glance, seems somewhat intimidating. It not as bad as it looks, and if you have all the information collected and organised, you should be able to complete the form in less than an hour, and then add a few minutes more to make the second copy. You will probably leave most pages nearly empty. When you have it completed you need make a sworn statement that what is said in the form is true to the best of your knowledge, and that must be witnessed by a Commissioner for Oaths or Practising Solicitor or Court Clerk.
This is an area where you need to exercise some care, because when you turn up at the Probate Office or District Registry, you will be expected to have evidence with you to show that your figures are correct. You are also required to have proof of title to any real property included in the estate. While it is necessary to exercise some care in completing the affidavit, there is no need to worry too greatly about it. If there is something that has not yet been finalised, such as outstanding income tax or a legal claim still being processed, a sensible provision is acceptable so long as you can give a good basis for the figure that you declare.
Preparing for attendance at the Probate Office is probably the biggest hurdle facing the DIY executor. It is largely in connection with this that I suggested that the qualities that you might need include that you feel comfortable dealing with financial and legal matters, are good at dealing with bureaucracies, and have plenty of time and patience. But there is nothing to fear. If you have any concerns you can ask the advice of the Probate Office (quick responses on email from ProbatePersonalApplications@Courts.ie) or the Revenue Commissioners Captal Acquisition Tax section (telephone 1890 211104). Both services are truly helpful.
You should understand that probating a will is quite serious business. It involves placing all the property of a deceased person under the control of an individual, so the Probate Office has to be satisfied that the will is valid and the person entrusted with carrying out the testator's wishes should be allowed to proceed. From this point on, the executor is subject to little or no official supervision. There is a great deal of trust involved.
When Probate has been granted, the executor has the same control over the assets of the estate as an owner, including the power to call in debts and dispose of property. That control must be exercised in the best interests of the estate. It is often the case that the executor is the sole beneficiary, or is to inherit everything after providing for some small bequests. In such a situation, there is unlikely to be a difficulty about acting in the best interests of the estate because they are pretty well the same as those of the executor. Things might, and sometimes do, become difficult when a number of people are to share an estate -- for example, where a widowed parent dies and leaves everything to be divided among the children, making one of them the executor.
Easy cases first. We might look at some difficult situations later.
When you have the Grant or Probate, you can use it to take full control of things. You can produce it to a financial institution as your authority to remove funds from an account; you can use it as your permit to reclaim tax overpaid; you can use it as the legal instrument that empowers you to sell or assign real property. In a sense, you are omnipotent -- but omnipotent subject to the terms of the will. You must use the assets to give proper effect to the testator's intentions.
First, you have to pay the bills. Many wills contain a specific directive to "pay my debts funeral and testamentary expenses". This is redundant, because even if it is not set down in the will, they have to be paid, and they have to be paid as a first priority. In my opinion, you should be particularly careful about testamentary expenses. Keep a record of all that you spend, and try to avoid unnecessary or wasteful spending. Your object should be to ensure that you are not out of pocket, and that the estate is not subject to more expenses than are reasonably necessary. One pitfall to avoid is that of professional expenses:
- you will need a valuation of any real property in the estate, and valuer's fees can vary enormously
- you might appoint an auctioneer to sell a property
- you might engage a solicitor to assist in property transactions.
These might be the big items among the testamentary expenses, and it is unwise to engage professionals without negotiating their fees.
[I have not experienced a situation where the estate was insufficient to pay debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses, so I can not give reliable advice on how to proceed in such a case. It would be irresponsible for me to state an opinion as fact.]
Next, you have to honour specific bequests, things like "€5000 to my niece Mary" or "€1000 to [named charity]" or "the top field to my son John". Unless something in the will provides otherwise, these bequests rank equally with one another.
[Again, I have no experience of an estate being unable to honour specific bequests, and would welcome advice for the purposes of this post.]
After debts, funeral expenses, testamentary expenses, and specific bequests have been dealt with, what remains is known as the residual estate, or residue. In most estates, that represents the bulk of the value. The will should make it clear how this is to be distributed -- perhaps to one person, perhaps shared among a number of people. The receipt of a specific bequest has no bearing on a person's standing in relation to the residue -- for example, if John had been given the top field and is to receive one quarter of the residue, then he gets both; the top field is not considered to be part of the residue.
We are very much in the practical domain now, so I will offer you my opinions on dealing with some of the practicalities.
First, if you look through discussions here and on other sites, you will see that sometimes beneficiaries are unhappy with executors. I am sure that such feelings are justified in some cases, but not in all. I think it is a good thing for an executor to keep all beneficiaries informed on progress, and to give them the best estimates possible of when they might expect to receive their inheritance and how much the final figure might be (be cautious!). The executor should listen to the views of the beneficiaries and take account of them so far as is reasonable, but should bear in mind that the estate does not function as a democracy. The beneficiaries should also have this made clear to them. It is true that the beneficiaries can, by agreement between themselves, vary the terms of a will, but if this is proposed my advice would be that the executor run for cover and appoint a solicitor to deal with things.
Second, there can be a question of when you should pay anything out. The golden rule here is that you should not pay anything until you are sure that the estate can afford it. If there is a shortfall in the estate, it is not the responsibility of the executor to make it up, but you could find yourself doing just that if you pay out money when there is nothing there to reimburse you. Assuming that the estate is solvent
- You should pay out the priority claims first: the debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses, and you should pay them as soon as you are comfortably in a position to do so. If there is a significant debt, such as a mortgage, it might be appropriate to wait until property is sold before clearing it, but you should be careful to avoid building up penalty interest if you have some funds available. Personally, I am comfortable with leaving a claim for out-of-pocket expenses until late in the process, but if your pocket is small you might reimburse yourself as you go along (be sure to have proper records).
- The next set of payments is specific bequests. Again, I think you should make the distribution as soon as you are comfortably covered. There is no worthwhile advantage to anybody in delaying these.
- It is fairly common to delay distributing the reside until everything is settled -- property sold, mortgage redeemed, statutory notice published, etc. There might, however, be situations where it is appropriate to make a partial distribution (essentially, payment on account) because it is in the best interests of the beneficiaries. If you do that, it is still subject to the golden rule that the estate should be able to afford it, and I would err on the side of caution here.
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There is no particular time limit for completing the work. The Succession Act simply says that it should be done as soon as is reasonably practicable; there is a clear implication that a year is not considered excessive. When you have paid out the various claims and bequests and distributed the residue, you might think that you have finished, and that you should sign off on the work. How do you do that? The surprising answer is that there is no clear way to do so. As a practical matter, I think that you should finish the work by producing a financial statement that summarises how you dealt with things. As a courtesy, I would give copies to the residuary legatee(s), but there is no clear legal obligation to do so.
You do not have to report back to the Probate Office on how you discharged your responsibilities, and there is no procedure by which the Probate Office declares that you are no longer executor because the work has been finshed. In a sense, you can see the role as withering away. But if something comes to light some years after you thought you had finished (say a deposit account that nobody had known about) then it is your responsibility to deal with it in accordance with the provisions of the will.
There is an interesting loose end that escapes the attention of a lot of people: the ownership of graves. If the estate purchases a burial plot, then the estate (through the executor) owns that plot. The average lay executor probably does not think of assigning ownership to somebody, so it remains as an "undistributed asset". That might not cause a problem, but if at some future time there is a wish to inter somebody else in the plot, it is for the executor to give (or refuse) permission.
There are a number of points that I have not fully addressed so far, mainly because they do not fit in readily with the sequential way in which I have tried to deal with things.
Non-cash Distributions
Where a will specifies that a certain person be given a particular thing, that is reasonably straightforward (it's even straightforward if the thing is no longer available -- a bequest of "my diamond and emerald ring to my cousin Mary" is void if the ring was sold by the testator in her lifetime, and Mary is not entitled to the supposed value of the ring).
Where things become just a little complicated is if assets of some noticeable value are given to people as part of their inheritance -- for example, a car. If this happens, you need to have a valuation that you can stand over, and you treat handing over the asset just as if you paid over that amount in cash.
Unless there are items of high financial value or items specifically bequested in the will, when it comes to household contents and personal effects, I think common sense and mutual respect among the beneficiaries are the bases of a satisfactory outcome. Let those with an interest in things sort out in discussion who gets what. This is sliding away from strict correctness into family relationships, and I will leave that to you.
Interpersonal Conflict.
Most wills do not cause conflict because people generally accept the right of the testator to decide what to do with the estate. If somebody seems minded to mount a serious challenge to a will, then you might not want to undertake the execution, and instead engage a solicitor to fight the battles.
My impression, however, is that conflict more usually arises because one or more beneficiaries object to the way the executor is dealing with the will. Let's not duck this one: an executor can get things wrong and cause conflict; it is also possible that the executor do everything right and conflict arises anyway.
You might make a decision in good faith with which a beneficiary takes issue. Of course you should try to avoid this happening because, among other things, you could be held personally liable if you did something wrong -- being an executor is serious business. My belief is that if you are careful in your work and communicate well and regularly with the significant beneficiaries, the risk of getting into such a situation is much reduced.
Dealing with unreasonable expectations is more difficult. Most wills are in effect family arrangements implemented at the behest of the testator, so any dispute that arises can also be a family row. The family context might make it more difficult for the executor but that can't be helped: if your sibling is accusing you of doing her out of something to which she believes she is entitled, you have to deal with the challenge. Legally and practically your situation is helped if you have done everything in accordance with the will and you have been careful and fair in the way you have dealt with things. Dealing with damage to family relationships is another matter, and beyond the scope of these notes.
Conflict of Interest
When a person dies there is no guarantee that those for whom he or she wishes to make provsion are in equivalent circumstances to one another. A widow might leave her estate to be divided equally between her three children, one of whom might be living in the family home as a student dependent on his mother, while the other two might have their own homes and good jobs. You might think the student had the greater need and wish to arrange things to meet those needs -- perhaps delaying selling the house until after he has completed his studies and found employment. You do not have the right to do so, even if you are convinced that his mother would have wished that. You are bound by the will, and you have equal obligations to all three beneficiaries. You did not create the difficult situation, and you do not have the power to solve the difficulty. [The beneficiaries have the power, which they can exercise through a "deed of variation"; you can invite them to consider such an arrangement, but you cannot impose one on them.]
Suppose the balance of interests is the other way around: two beneficiaries living in the family home, and one living elsewhere, and the two would prefer to remain where they are. This can be achieved only if the home is unsold, and that could result in the third beneficiary not getting her inheritance. The executor can not give effect to such an unjust arrangement. Either the home is sold, and the proceeds divided, or the two who want to occupy the home find a sufficient amount to cover the inheritance of the third party.
In summary, the executor may have to deal with conflicts of interest, but must deal with them by reference to the provisions of the will.
Income Tax
When a person dies and the estate is being dealt with, facts might emerge that indicate that income tax was underpaid. Bearing in mind that the Inland Revenue Affidavit is sent to the Revenue Commissioners, they too are likely to spot this and ask questions. You might find yourself in correspondence with the tax office in an effort to sort out the arrears and get them paid. My advice on this is very simple: just do it, and if you are uncomfortable with that type of work, ask a professional to assist you. You will need to deal with any outstanding tax liabilities before making a final distribution.
There might also be tax liability on the estate itself -- for example, on interest earned on sums held on deposit. Again, deal with this before the final distribution.
If you are appointed as executor of a will, you are being asked to take on a great responsibility: to take possession of all the assets of the deceased, pay all debts, and then share out those assets in accordance with the terms of the will.
One way to proceed is to engage a solicitor to do the work. The executor still has some things to do, but the solicitor normally guides him or her through the process. Of course, this gives rise to fees and expenses. It is a good idea to discuss these at the time the solicitor is being appointed so that there are no surprises later on.
The main purpose of this post, however, is to discuss how you might proceed if you decide to execute the will yourself.
I start by giving you an opinion that I hold strongly, but with which you are free to disagree: do not take on this work unless you
- feel comfortable dealing with financial and legal matters
- are good at dealing with bureaucracies
- have plenty of time and patience
- have the trust of all the beneficiaries.
Before you take any practical steps, I recommend that you get a notebook in which you keep track of all that you have done, and you set up a system of financial records so that neither the estate nor you lose out financially because of your losing track of things.
The first thing to do is take possession of the will. This is an extremely important document. Make sure that it is kept safe, and do not write on it or mark it in any way. Then get a death certificate from the registrar for the place in which the death occured. The death certificate and will together are the basic proof that you are entitled to act as the representative of the deceased person. You should then turn your attention to getting a Grant of Probate, which is an official document that declares that you have proved your right to execute the will. This process takes some months, and there is an intermediate period where you are in charge, but your powers to act are limited.
You need to advance on two fronts in the early stages, the practical one and the legal one. The two things overlap a good deal.
- On the practical front, you need to deal with the assets and liabilities of the estate. That means finding out what was owned and owed, and notifying various people of the testator's death and the fact that you are the nominated executor. Some parties, particularly financial institutions, will want documentary evidence, and sight of the will and death certificate meets their need. My own preference is not to part with the documents, but to present them in person at a convenient office where they can be inspected and copied. Some things need to be dealt with very early in the process: banks and credit card companies should be notified as quickly as possible, because accounts should be frozen from the date of death; insurers of property and motor vehicles should also be contacted so that cover can be continued as suits the circumstances. Ordinary creditors should also be notified and, where appropriate, arrangements might be made to transfer accounts into the name of the executor (e.g. electricity supply to a family home).
- In tandem with these activities you can be collating information that is needed for the probate application. What you have to develop is a reasonably complete statement of the assets and liabilities at the date of death. So when you are notifying financial institutions and others of the death, you should request a certificate showing any balance at date of death. You will also need to know the value of real property (i.e. lands and buildings) and it is probably a good idea to get a professional valuation rather than make an inexpert guess. A good portion of the form is given over to a statement of the assets and liabilities, and the figures you supply at this stage should be as complete as you can manage. It it is not a great problem if the picture is not 100% complete at this stage -- for example, if there is a small savings account somewhere that you overlooked, or a debt owing that you were not aware of. You should complete and lodge the form as early as you reasonably can, and then be prepared to wait up to six months until you are called to be sworn in as executor.
In the interval, there might be things you have to do.
- If the deceased had a home, then suitable arrangements have to be made to secure it, have it insured, and properly maintained. This could involve costs, and the money has to be found somewhere. Prior to the Grant of Probate, the executor can not access estate funds for this purpose, so this might involve getting a loan. If the deceased's home is occupied by a sole beneficiary, it might be a simple matter to make arrangements about financing the establishment. If there are beneficiaries who do not reside in the property, then an arrangement needs to be made that is fair and is acceptable to all interested parties.
- Similarly, if the deceased had a car, something should be done without undue delay, because a car left unused for months can deteriorate and lose value.
- The funeral has to be paid for, and that is a charge on the estate. Because it is a priority charge (ahead of all bequests) it is one thing for which banks can release funds in advance of the Grant of Probate.
Be prepared for some things that might upset or irritate you.
- The person that I refer to in these notes as "the deceased" could be your parent or sibling or spouse or dear friend, and you will be confronted repeatedly with reminders of the death.
- You may also find that some of the people with whom you deal are less helpful than you might have expected. It can, for example, take several requests to get something as straightforward as a certificate of balance from certain institutions (I refrain from naming names, in case my experiences were untypical).
- You might receive letters addressed to "John Doe deceased" or you might get threats of legal action on foot a debt from one section of a business when you have a letter on your file from another department of the same business agreeing to await the Grant of Probate.
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The swearing-in of the executor is done at the Probate Office in Dublin or, if the estate is outside the greater Dublin area, the executor can apply to the appropriate District Probate Registry. While a report on assets and liabilitiies is made with the initial application for probate, a more complete statement is required at this stage. This is known as the Inland Revenue Affidavit, sometimes referred to as Form CA24. Its main purpose is to allow the Revenue Commissioners check for the possible liabilty of any beneficiary to Capital Acquisitions Tax. Two copies are required, one of which is forwarded by the Probate Office to the Revenue Commissioners. It is a lengthy form (20 pages) and, at first glance, seems somewhat intimidating. It not as bad as it looks, and if you have all the information collected and organised, you should be able to complete the form in less than an hour, and then add a few minutes more to make the second copy. You will probably leave most pages nearly empty. When you have it completed you need make a sworn statement that what is said in the form is true to the best of your knowledge, and that must be witnessed by a Commissioner for Oaths or Practising Solicitor or Court Clerk.
This is an area where you need to exercise some care, because when you turn up at the Probate Office or District Registry, you will be expected to have evidence with you to show that your figures are correct. You are also required to have proof of title to any real property included in the estate. While it is necessary to exercise some care in completing the affidavit, there is no need to worry too greatly about it. If there is something that has not yet been finalised, such as outstanding income tax or a legal claim still being processed, a sensible provision is acceptable so long as you can give a good basis for the figure that you declare.
Preparing for attendance at the Probate Office is probably the biggest hurdle facing the DIY executor. It is largely in connection with this that I suggested that the qualities that you might need include that you feel comfortable dealing with financial and legal matters, are good at dealing with bureaucracies, and have plenty of time and patience. But there is nothing to fear. If you have any concerns you can ask the advice of the Probate Office (quick responses on email from ProbatePersonalApplications@Courts.ie) or the Revenue Commissioners Captal Acquisition Tax section (telephone 1890 211104). Both services are truly helpful.
You should understand that probating a will is quite serious business. It involves placing all the property of a deceased person under the control of an individual, so the Probate Office has to be satisfied that the will is valid and the person entrusted with carrying out the testator's wishes should be allowed to proceed. From this point on, the executor is subject to little or no official supervision. There is a great deal of trust involved.
When Probate has been granted, the executor has the same control over the assets of the estate as an owner, including the power to call in debts and dispose of property. That control must be exercised in the best interests of the estate. It is often the case that the executor is the sole beneficiary, or is to inherit everything after providing for some small bequests. In such a situation, there is unlikely to be a difficulty about acting in the best interests of the estate because they are pretty well the same as those of the executor. Things might, and sometimes do, become difficult when a number of people are to share an estate -- for example, where a widowed parent dies and leaves everything to be divided among the children, making one of them the executor.
Easy cases first. We might look at some difficult situations later.
When you have the Grant or Probate, you can use it to take full control of things. You can produce it to a financial institution as your authority to remove funds from an account; you can use it as your permit to reclaim tax overpaid; you can use it as the legal instrument that empowers you to sell or assign real property. In a sense, you are omnipotent -- but omnipotent subject to the terms of the will. You must use the assets to give proper effect to the testator's intentions.
First, you have to pay the bills. Many wills contain a specific directive to "pay my debts funeral and testamentary expenses". This is redundant, because even if it is not set down in the will, they have to be paid, and they have to be paid as a first priority. In my opinion, you should be particularly careful about testamentary expenses. Keep a record of all that you spend, and try to avoid unnecessary or wasteful spending. Your object should be to ensure that you are not out of pocket, and that the estate is not subject to more expenses than are reasonably necessary. One pitfall to avoid is that of professional expenses:
- you will need a valuation of any real property in the estate, and valuer's fees can vary enormously
- you might appoint an auctioneer to sell a property
- you might engage a solicitor to assist in property transactions.
These might be the big items among the testamentary expenses, and it is unwise to engage professionals without negotiating their fees.
[I have not experienced a situation where the estate was insufficient to pay debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses, so I can not give reliable advice on how to proceed in such a case. It would be irresponsible for me to state an opinion as fact.]
Next, you have to honour specific bequests, things like "€5000 to my niece Mary" or "€1000 to [named charity]" or "the top field to my son John". Unless something in the will provides otherwise, these bequests rank equally with one another.
[Again, I have no experience of an estate being unable to honour specific bequests, and would welcome advice for the purposes of this post.]
After debts, funeral expenses, testamentary expenses, and specific bequests have been dealt with, what remains is known as the residual estate, or residue. In most estates, that represents the bulk of the value. The will should make it clear how this is to be distributed -- perhaps to one person, perhaps shared among a number of people. The receipt of a specific bequest has no bearing on a person's standing in relation to the residue -- for example, if John had been given the top field and is to receive one quarter of the residue, then he gets both; the top field is not considered to be part of the residue.
We are very much in the practical domain now, so I will offer you my opinions on dealing with some of the practicalities.
First, if you look through discussions here and on other sites, you will see that sometimes beneficiaries are unhappy with executors. I am sure that such feelings are justified in some cases, but not in all. I think it is a good thing for an executor to keep all beneficiaries informed on progress, and to give them the best estimates possible of when they might expect to receive their inheritance and how much the final figure might be (be cautious!). The executor should listen to the views of the beneficiaries and take account of them so far as is reasonable, but should bear in mind that the estate does not function as a democracy. The beneficiaries should also have this made clear to them. It is true that the beneficiaries can, by agreement between themselves, vary the terms of a will, but if this is proposed my advice would be that the executor run for cover and appoint a solicitor to deal with things.
Second, there can be a question of when you should pay anything out. The golden rule here is that you should not pay anything until you are sure that the estate can afford it. If there is a shortfall in the estate, it is not the responsibility of the executor to make it up, but you could find yourself doing just that if you pay out money when there is nothing there to reimburse you. Assuming that the estate is solvent
- You should pay out the priority claims first: the debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses, and you should pay them as soon as you are comfortably in a position to do so. If there is a significant debt, such as a mortgage, it might be appropriate to wait until property is sold before clearing it, but you should be careful to avoid building up penalty interest if you have some funds available. Personally, I am comfortable with leaving a claim for out-of-pocket expenses until late in the process, but if your pocket is small you might reimburse yourself as you go along (be sure to have proper records).
- The next set of payments is specific bequests. Again, I think you should make the distribution as soon as you are comfortably covered. There is no worthwhile advantage to anybody in delaying these.
- It is fairly common to delay distributing the reside until everything is settled -- property sold, mortgage redeemed, statutory notice published, etc. There might, however, be situations where it is appropriate to make a partial distribution (essentially, payment on account) because it is in the best interests of the beneficiaries. If you do that, it is still subject to the golden rule that the estate should be able to afford it, and I would err on the side of caution here.
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There is no particular time limit for completing the work. The Succession Act simply says that it should be done as soon as is reasonably practicable; there is a clear implication that a year is not considered excessive. When you have paid out the various claims and bequests and distributed the residue, you might think that you have finished, and that you should sign off on the work. How do you do that? The surprising answer is that there is no clear way to do so. As a practical matter, I think that you should finish the work by producing a financial statement that summarises how you dealt with things. As a courtesy, I would give copies to the residuary legatee(s), but there is no clear legal obligation to do so.
You do not have to report back to the Probate Office on how you discharged your responsibilities, and there is no procedure by which the Probate Office declares that you are no longer executor because the work has been finshed. In a sense, you can see the role as withering away. But if something comes to light some years after you thought you had finished (say a deposit account that nobody had known about) then it is your responsibility to deal with it in accordance with the provisions of the will.
There is an interesting loose end that escapes the attention of a lot of people: the ownership of graves. If the estate purchases a burial plot, then the estate (through the executor) owns that plot. The average lay executor probably does not think of assigning ownership to somebody, so it remains as an "undistributed asset". That might not cause a problem, but if at some future time there is a wish to inter somebody else in the plot, it is for the executor to give (or refuse) permission.
There are a number of points that I have not fully addressed so far, mainly because they do not fit in readily with the sequential way in which I have tried to deal with things.
Non-cash Distributions
Where a will specifies that a certain person be given a particular thing, that is reasonably straightforward (it's even straightforward if the thing is no longer available -- a bequest of "my diamond and emerald ring to my cousin Mary" is void if the ring was sold by the testator in her lifetime, and Mary is not entitled to the supposed value of the ring).
Where things become just a little complicated is if assets of some noticeable value are given to people as part of their inheritance -- for example, a car. If this happens, you need to have a valuation that you can stand over, and you treat handing over the asset just as if you paid over that amount in cash.
Unless there are items of high financial value or items specifically bequested in the will, when it comes to household contents and personal effects, I think common sense and mutual respect among the beneficiaries are the bases of a satisfactory outcome. Let those with an interest in things sort out in discussion who gets what. This is sliding away from strict correctness into family relationships, and I will leave that to you.
Interpersonal Conflict.
Most wills do not cause conflict because people generally accept the right of the testator to decide what to do with the estate. If somebody seems minded to mount a serious challenge to a will, then you might not want to undertake the execution, and instead engage a solicitor to fight the battles.
My impression, however, is that conflict more usually arises because one or more beneficiaries object to the way the executor is dealing with the will. Let's not duck this one: an executor can get things wrong and cause conflict; it is also possible that the executor do everything right and conflict arises anyway.
You might make a decision in good faith with which a beneficiary takes issue. Of course you should try to avoid this happening because, among other things, you could be held personally liable if you did something wrong -- being an executor is serious business. My belief is that if you are careful in your work and communicate well and regularly with the significant beneficiaries, the risk of getting into such a situation is much reduced.
Dealing with unreasonable expectations is more difficult. Most wills are in effect family arrangements implemented at the behest of the testator, so any dispute that arises can also be a family row. The family context might make it more difficult for the executor but that can't be helped: if your sibling is accusing you of doing her out of something to which she believes she is entitled, you have to deal with the challenge. Legally and practically your situation is helped if you have done everything in accordance with the will and you have been careful and fair in the way you have dealt with things. Dealing with damage to family relationships is another matter, and beyond the scope of these notes.
Conflict of Interest
When a person dies there is no guarantee that those for whom he or she wishes to make provsion are in equivalent circumstances to one another. A widow might leave her estate to be divided equally between her three children, one of whom might be living in the family home as a student dependent on his mother, while the other two might have their own homes and good jobs. You might think the student had the greater need and wish to arrange things to meet those needs -- perhaps delaying selling the house until after he has completed his studies and found employment. You do not have the right to do so, even if you are convinced that his mother would have wished that. You are bound by the will, and you have equal obligations to all three beneficiaries. You did not create the difficult situation, and you do not have the power to solve the difficulty. [The beneficiaries have the power, which they can exercise through a "deed of variation"; you can invite them to consider such an arrangement, but you cannot impose one on them.]
Suppose the balance of interests is the other way around: two beneficiaries living in the family home, and one living elsewhere, and the two would prefer to remain where they are. This can be achieved only if the home is unsold, and that could result in the third beneficiary not getting her inheritance. The executor can not give effect to such an unjust arrangement. Either the home is sold, and the proceeds divided, or the two who want to occupy the home find a sufficient amount to cover the inheritance of the third party.
In summary, the executor may have to deal with conflicts of interest, but must deal with them by reference to the provisions of the will.
Income Tax
When a person dies and the estate is being dealt with, facts might emerge that indicate that income tax was underpaid. Bearing in mind that the Inland Revenue Affidavit is sent to the Revenue Commissioners, they too are likely to spot this and ask questions. You might find yourself in correspondence with the tax office in an effort to sort out the arrears and get them paid. My advice on this is very simple: just do it, and if you are uncomfortable with that type of work, ask a professional to assist you. You will need to deal with any outstanding tax liabilities before making a final distribution.
There might also be tax liability on the estate itself -- for example, on interest earned on sums held on deposit. Again, deal with this before the final distribution.
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