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Hire an experienced professional executor
Hire a professional executor
A Burden Lifted
Hire an experienced estates lawyer as your professional executor and put your mind at ease.
Being an executor can be overwhelming. So many things to do, forms to sign, and everyone waiting on you. It's a part-time job for 2 years. And your personal assets are at stake if you screw up.
Ask me how you can appoint me as your professional executor, sit back and let me handle the headache.
Blake
"I'll never do that again!"
Being an executor is an honour, but also a great burden. People don't appreciate what they are asking of friends and family when they name them as an executor in their will.
I've never had an executor say "that was less work than expected."
It's usually: "I'm never doing that again!"
An estate is never as simple as it seems. Even the simplest estates can be time consuming. Hire a professional executor like me instead!
Being an executor is an onerous job, with over a hundred tasks, many with very specific deadlines. Assets need to be maximized and costs minimized. A wrong turn can delay wrapping up the estate for months.
With a profesional executor you can relieve yourself and your friends and family of the burden and take the time to mourn.
And It doesn't matter if the will didn't appoint a professional executor - the beneficiaries can nominate a third party executor.
And it costs the same or less! A non-professional, family member executor is entitled to be paid roughly 5% of the estate value. My fees as a professional executor are less (usually between 4-5% with minimums/maximums) and you get someone who knows what they're doing.
Plus I'm professionally insured if things go wrong!
Appointed executor in a Will?
It's OK to say no
Most people don't realize that you DO NOT have to accept being an executor, even if you agreed years ago when the Will was signed. All you have to do before starting anything is sign a single piece of paper and renounce your right to be executor and walk away. It's as easy as that.
I've been an executor many times - it's not an honour, it's a burden. I get paid professionally to be an executor and i can tell you that it is still an unpleasant job. It's 2 years of your life you won't get back.
Think long and hard if you want to be an executor. Money Sense and Advisor.ca cover some the typical scenarios when you might want to hire a professional executor.
Objectivity and time availability are some of the key characteristics to look for when selecting an executor.
If you renounce and there is no back-up named or if they also renounce, the beneficiaries can appoint a professional executor like to me to do the job.
I keep the beneficiaries constantly updated and work tirelessly to maximize the value of the estate with a full accounting along the way.
Everything I do as a professional executor is in accordance with the law and the letter of the Will (if there is one). You can live your life and simply collect a cheque.
No Will?
Hire a professional executor
If your family member has passed away without a Will and you live out of province or simply too busy to take on the chore of wrapping up their estate, I can help.
With the consent of the beneficiaries you can nominate me to apply for probate (a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will).
I will take care of all the legwork, decisions, taxes, and distribute the estate assets in accordance with the law.
If you live outside Ontario, you CANNOT be the administrator of an estate where there is no Will so either a family member here will have to do it or you will need to find a professional executor like me to take on the job.
Professional executor expertise
Experience
I've wrapped up countless estates over the years and bring "boots on the ground" firsthand experience. And I have a deep network of contacts and professionals to draw on to administer an estate in a professional, timely and productive manner.
Communication
It's vital to keep beneficiaries informed along the way so they know what to expect and when. A well managed estate should have no surprises! I'm always available by phone or email.
Fixed Fees
We agree on the fees I will charge the estate before beginning. No surprises at the end. I usually charge 4-5% subject to minimums/maximum dependant on the complexity and assets of the estate.
Results
Don't believe me? Take it from Jim, an Albertan whose sister passed away in Toronto without a Will and asked me to administer the estate as their professional executor:
"Dear Blake: I just wanted to take this time to thank you for your exceptional service and personal care and attention to my sister's estate resolution. You are very good at what you do! We also felt you were "treating us exactly the way you would want to be treated." You truly have been a blessing to my wife and I at what was a difficult time." - Jim
Professional Executor FAQ
I'm not the executor, but I want to hire you. Can I do that?
Do I name you as executor in my Will?
There's no Will. Can you take over and run the estate?
How much does an executor get paid?
What if the person named as executor has died?
What if I don't want to be executor?
I'm named as executor, but live out-of-town. Is that a problem?
Are there circumstances where you won't be the executor?
Set up a discovery call today
Based in Toronto in the Beaches.
Virtual meetings from anywhere in the world.