One of the most important decisions Pennsylvania residents have to make in their estate planning is choosing who the executor or trustee will be. They have many different options to choose from, but some feel the need to place this responsibility on just one person to carry out their asset distribution after their death.
A recent news article highlights many professional options that aid in your finances and could serve as candidates for trustees or executors. However, with every strength they have comes a weakness. Maybe the financial professionals you know have overly specific skillsets or are not familiar with you or your family. Maybe you feel as if their skills are still essential towards distributing your estate, but they could require some additional help.
Thankfully there is the option of joint responsibility, which might be necessary to avoid conflict while still maintaining your preferences for asset distribution.
A balance between familiarity and professionalism
People planning their estate get conflicted between choosing family members and financial workers as trustees or executors because they want someone they can depend on. Family and friends have a closer relationship to you, but a financial adviser has experience to assure that your assets will receive minimal tax reduction.
If you appoint more than one on each side, communication will be much easier. The financial advisors can inform your kin of all the specific details regarding the investments in your will or trust, and your friends and family can use this new knowledge to make sure that your property will distribute to your preferences.
Settling any potential conflicts early
This additional communication between family, friends and professional advisers can also bring forth any issues with the will or trust early, before they escalate into bigger problems. One of the biggest issues found within inheritance division is potential family squabbles. Having just one person as the sole surrogate means that they could be too biased or inexperienced to circulate your assets fairly or properly.
By appointing multiple people on both sides, your surrogates can quickly spot any issues that arise during planning. They have a better chance of alerting you before you die of any potential disputes that could come from your plan and potential solutions towards preventing them.
Working together for a common cause
As you get older, you will need as much help in your estate planning as you can get. While some disputes could arise from having multiple family members, friends and financial professionals discuss your estate, it is better to have people with different perspectives, experiences and personal connections aid you to ensure that your property and investments are distributed to your liking.