Being an executor (in Ontario, an estate trustee) is a real job with legal duties. It is not an honour you hand to the oldest child and forget about. The person you name will one day be responsible for finding the will, securing the assets, paying the debts and taxes, and distributing what is left, in the right order, to the right people, while keeping records the beneficiaries are entitled to see.
It is longer and lonelier than most people expect. A straightforward estate in Canada often takes a year to settle, and many take longer. The executor deals with the bank, the lawyer, the accountant, the Canada Revenue Agency, and sometimes a beneficiary who is grieving and impatient at the same time. They may have to apply for probate, file a final tax return and possibly an estate return, and hold money back until CRA confirms nothing more is owed. Distribute too early, or in the wrong order, and they can be held personally responsible for the shortfall.
I am not telling you this to scare anyone off. I am telling you so you choose carefully, and so the person you choose is set up to succeed rather than handed a shoebox and your sympathy.
- The person is organized, level-headed, and comfortable with paperwork and deadlines.
- They are willing. Ask them directly. Do not assume they will say yes.
- They can act from where they live, or get to where the property and meetings are.
- They can stay fair and calm when family feelings run high.
- There is a named alternate, in case your first choice cannot serve when the time comes.
- They know where to find the will, the documents, and a current list of accounts and advisors.
Most of an executor's first month is spent simply finding things. Which bank, which advisor, which policy, what is owed, where the passwords are. That search happens at the hardest possible moment, in the weeks after a death. The good news is that almost all of it can be removed in advance, while you are still here to answer the questions. If you want to see the whole job laid out, I have put the executor duties, the document index, and how I coach people through it on one page.
Build the instructions your executor will thank you for.
If you want help getting this organized, the workshop is the most direct way to do it. Your Next Step is a half-day, in-person session where we work through a planning workbook together, including the accounts, advisors, documents, and wishes your executor will need to find.
You walk out with a written set of next steps and a follow-up call with me booked. $1,500 per family or business.
See the workshop →Whether you are deciding who to name, or you have just been named yourself and want to understand what you have agreed to, it is worth a conversation before the day arrives.
Want to talk it through?
If any of this raises a question about your own situation, the next step is a short conversation. No charge, no pressure. Just pick a time that works.