What if My Executor Is Uncommunicative?
Your designated executor is supposed to administer your estate in the explicit way you set out in your last will and testament. To conduct this administration properly, your executor must be fully transparent with your designated beneficiaries on their every move. In other words, this administration may not work if your executor insists on being uncommunicative. Read on to discover what happens if your executor is uncommunicative with your beneficiaries and how a seasoned Butler County will preparation attorney at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can work to ensure such a roadblock does not arise.
What are the required responsibilities of my executor?
Before all else, your designated executor holds certain fiduciary obligations. This involves holding a certain duty of care, not just towards you, but towards your designated beneficiaries.
With that being said, upon your unfortunate passing, your executor is supposed to notify your beneficiaries about the existence of your last will and testament. From here, they must continually maintain transparency while administering your assets. This means that they must respond to any attempts at contact your beneficiaries may have, along with answering any questions to the best of their ability.
Therefore, your executor’s failure to communicate may allude to their failure to fulfill their other required responsibilities. For example, your beneficiaries may begin to question whether they are acting in good faith when selling certain properties or paying certain tax obligations. What’s more, your beneficiaries may grow suspicious of whether they distributed your remaining estate in the exact way you intended.
What if my executor is uncommunicative with my beneficiaries?
Ultimately, the worst-case scenario is that your designated beneficiaries may have grounds to contest your last will and testament if your executor insists on being uncommunicative. Or, they may petition for your executor’s removal. At the very least, they may petition the Pennsylvania probate court to order your executor to disclose the necessary information.
Overall, any of these subsequent legal proceedings may cause tension amongst your beneficiaries. This may be especially true if one of your beneficiaries doubles as your executor. Idealistically, your beneficiaries should instead support one another during this grieving process, collectively banding together to mourn your loss.
This is not to mention that these subsequent legal proceedings may cause an unnecessary delay in your beneficiaries receiving their inheritances. This may be especially serious if your beneficiaries are used to your financial support. Or, if they have otherwise found themselves in a financially dire situation since your passing.
Rest assured, our team at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC has handled cases just like this. So please do not be afraid to reach out to one of our competent Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys.
