Who is an ideal executor of a will?

[A.Nonymous]

I talked to an estate attorney the other day about making up a will. He told me to write down what I wanted to do and to write up a list of all my assets (home, car, bank accounts, 401k(s), etc......). Two lines of text later and I was done with all of my assets. Still working out exactly how I want both of my dollars to be managed though.

At the end of the day I still need an executor and a backup executor. I have several candidates in mind, but I'm not sure which one makes the ideal executor. My assets are mainly going to three nieces. They're all under the age of 5 so they won't get any of it today if I walk in front of a bus, so it will need to be managed by someone until they are adults.

Candidate 1 - My dad. He's blood related to two of the nieces, but not the third. I strongly suspect he won't manage my money the way I'd like to have it managed though and is a strong enough personality that no one will challenge him.

Candidate 2 - Family friend. Blood relative of two of the nieces. No one I respect more highly. It's possible he might be accused of favoring the two that he is related to. Would manage my money the way I want it managed though.

Candidate 3 - Family friend. Blood relative of one of the nieces. Not financially astute at all. I trust his intentions completely, but not necessarily his money skills.

Candidate 4 - The lawyer making the will. Don't know him from Adam. He's a complete stranger to everyone. He's got experience doing this stuff though so that might make him a good candidate. He seems like an honest enough guy for a lawyer though.

Candidate 5 - Brother in law. He's my age so chances of him sucking air for the next 10-15 years while the kids grow are pretty good. He's the father of two of the nieces and might be accused of showing favoritism though.

Any thoughts?

 

[Phases]

#2.

"both your dollars", heh..

 

[lunatic59]

I performed the role of Executor three times and it's pretty painless as long as there is an uncontested will. It's pretty much a managerial role. You need someone who will dot the i's and cross the t's and make sure all the proper forms are filled out. Keep in mind that if you are establishing a trust as part of your estate that the executor doesn't necessarily have to be the trustee. As a matter of fact, it's usually a better idea if they are not the same person.

If those were my only choices and I still had two dollars, I'd go with the brother-in-law for the executor and the friend as trustee.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I performed the role of Executor three times and it's pretty painless as long as there is an uncontested will. It's pretty much a managerial role. You need someone who will dot the i's and cross the t's and make sure all the proper forms are filled out. Keep in mind that if you are establishing a trust as part of your estate that the executor doesn't necessarily have to be the trustee. As a matter of fact, it's usually a better idea if they are not the same person.

If those were my only choices and I still had two dollars, I'd go with the brother-in-law for the executor and the friend as trustee.

I've been told before that it's not always a good idea for the executor and the trustee to be the same person, but I've never been told why. I honestly don't know the answer.