Law Firm as Executor?

[FloridaJim57]

My wife and I have no children, nor do we have any close relatives except people who are significantly older than us. Nor do we have any friends that we could ask to be our executor of our will. The only thing I can think of is having a law firm handle this once the survivor passes. Does anyone have any experience in handling their will this way? Immediate question that comes to mind is how would the law firm know that the survivor has passed and it is time to implement the will? Someone suggested carrying a card in our wallets saying to notify the law firm of our passing. Any advice?

 

[razztazz]

Just ran this through the mill in 2019. Yes the wallet card works. Also if you're entering a hospital for something whether or not you expect to come out, they usually ask for at least one person to contact, so you'll have an opportunity there to get the info out. I have always brought a list of people/agencies to contact.

Also, I went over this with the bank that is acting as my executor. They said they check obits, social security death lists, and other consolidated sources of the recently departed specifically looking for anyone who might be on their "To Do List." They said this is their business and they do it all the time. I won't leave unnoticed.

 

[gamboolman]

FloridaJim57,

ms gamboolgal and I in the midst of revising our Wills Trust now.

I just retired 1-Feb-21 and we have one Daughter who is our Executor.

We have named the Law Firm to be Executor if both ms gamboolgal and our daughter is deceased.

We too went thru the same thought process on potential folks to use, e.g., other relatives but those were not good choices due to be too young/immature or older than us. We considered some very good friends but they are our age and we did not want to put that kind of responsibilities on them.

So just this week, we met with the attorney for final revisions and alignment to prepare the revised documents.

We have named our Daughter as Executor with the Law Firm next in line.

in the event that we and our Daughter is deceased, the Law Firm will take care of our final wishes. Cost will be billed per hour and paid from our Estate.

We will discuss with the Law Firm how we should put the Steps/Actions in place for our Daughter in the event that ms gamboolgal and I have Crossed Over The Jordan.

We have spent a good bit of time and money getting to this point. We feel that we have done everything we can to plan as best we can at this point in our lives.

All the best in your endeavors to get your affairs in order.

gamboolman....

 

[Amethyst]

This raises the question:

Who is the decision-maker on one's DNR, other than spouse/child (what if you don't have one, or they are incapacitated, etc.)

 

[gamboolman]

This raises the question:

Who is the decision-maker on one's DNR, other than spouse/child (what if you don't have one, or they are incapacitated, etc.)

Thank you Amethyst - good point

ETA I think we have addressed in the dozen or so documents, including how to handle Medical end of life issues. But we will discuss to ensure what we think we understand - is in fact what the legal verbiage states

ms gamboolgal and I will get this question addressed and included in the revision in the next meeting with the Estate Attorney.

 

[intent]

Wow, timely thread for us as we were just discussing this last night. I didn't realize banks provided this service, thanks for that bit of info razztazz.

 

[razztazz]

Wow, timely thread for us as we were just discussing this last night. I didn't realize banks provided this service, thanks for that bit of info razztazz.

I didn't know they did either. I went to a lawyer thinking, "Lawyers do this, don't they?" He's the one who told me banks handle it too.

One note I'll repeat here: The bank will have a minimum estate value before they'll handle it. Mine is $250,000 so everyone here should stay above the min unless, at the end, you're all spent down from nursing home/assisted living. By law executors are only allowed to charge something around 2% of the estate's final value as a fee. It varies only slightly from state to state according to my lawyer.

 

[OldShooter]

... Also, I went over this with the bank that is acting as my executor. They said they check obits, social security death lists, and other consolidated sources of the recently departed specifically looking for anyone who might be on their "To Do List." They said this is their business and they do it all the time. I won't leave unnoticed.

Yes, DW had a staff person at the megabank that did that every day. Law firms do it too. That said, it is not a foolproof process.

FWIW our attorney, quite a bit younger, is our executor and her firm is backup if she is unable. She is very familiar with our wishes, so if there is ambiguity in some decision she can resolve it. This attorney also knows DW through their church, so would hear of our demise(s) by that path.

I was executor for my mother, but I helped her with her will specifically to minimize potential issues. For example. my sister and brother were to inherit the family lake cabin but the estate split was to be equal $$ value between us. Thus the risk of warring appraisals. I headed this off by specifying in the will that the property was to be valued at the current county assessor's Estimated Market Value. This probably cost me some money but the asset distribution went smoothly.

Having a family member executor with discretionary authority over assets and distributions creates the potential for very vicious intra-beneficiary fights. Best to have a neutral co-executor if there is even a tiny risk of this. That neutral can be the bad cop.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

My DW and I have recently set this up (attorney rep) as a contingent executor if we aren't able to do it for each other. My blood family is almost non-existent at this point any my DWs family is...well...it could get messy. It was fairly simple to put into place and the firm is large enough that if our primary counsel is unable, the firm will be able to effect our wishes without too many issues.

Yes, the costs are higher than if a family member or friend did it, but since most of our accounts are set up as PODs, then the estate settlement portion will be fairly simple and it can be taken care of without the issue of family in fighting.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Also, I went over this with the bank that is acting as my executor. They said they check obits, social security death lists, and other consolidated sources of the recently departed specifically looking for anyone who might be on their "To Do List." They said this is their business and they do it all the time. I won't leave unnoticed.

Ditto.

We had wills drawn up a few years ago by a local law firm that specializes in estates and elder care law. They told us they have people who check obits, the death index, etc. daily for names of clients.

 

[Silver]

DH and I are also childless and in the same situation. No family that are not older, no friends we can impinge on. Our plan is to enter a Continuing Care Retirement Center at around age 78-80. The CCRC we are moving to has a legal department that is willing and able to manage end of life issues.

Of course....there are always bumps in the road, but that's the plan.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks good thread! We have siblings - not younger enough and probably too distant anyway.

 

[audreyh1]

DH and I are also childless and in the same situation. No family that are not older, no friends we can impinge on. Our plan is to enter a Continuing Care Retirement Center at around age 78-80. The CCRC we are moving to has a legal department that is willing and able to manage end of life issues.

Of course....there are always bumps in the road, but that's the plan.

Hmmmm - doesn’t that seem like a potential conflict of interest? Who is the customer?

 

[Silver]

Hmmmm - doesn’t that seem like a potential conflict of interest? Who is the customer?

I'm not sure I understand your question, but want to if there is an issue I need to be wary of.

Why would there be a conflict of interest?

 

[Beldar]

DH and I are also childless and in the same situation. No family that are not older, no friends we can impinge on. Our plan is to enter a Continuing Care Retirement Center at around age 78-80. The CCRC we are moving to has a legal department that is willing and able to manage end of life issues.

Of course....there are always bumps in the road, but that's the plan.

DW and I are in the same situation as you. The bump in the road is if we get killed in a car wreck tomorrow (or today). Who handles the estate if no prior planning has been performed?

Yes, our assets are joint or TOD/POD to each other. But what if each other leaves at the same time? This thread has impressed me enough to put a plan in place NOW rather than later.

_B

 

[OldShooter]

... But what if each other leaves at the same time? ...

I don't claim to understand the details but our estate plan deals with this. It specifically says that in the event of a common disaster it shall be assumed that DW died first. This removes ambiguity for some of the things that will happen.

 

[CaliKid]

I am an estate lawyer and would NEVER pick an estate lawyer as my executor/trustee. We charge way more per hour than an executor/trustee. Look for a professional fiduciary or highly trusted friend. Name a few backups. Maybe a bank as last choice.

 

[RunningBum]

I'm not sure I understand your question, but want to if there is an issue I need to be wary of.

Why would there be a conflict of interest?

Suppose you were on life support, with no chance of recovery. Would they keep you alive so that they would continue getting paid? That's one example I can think of.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm not sure I understand your question, but want to if there is an issue I need to be wary of.

Why would there be a conflict of interest?

The CCRC is not an uninterested/neutral party. You are their customer. Relying on them to also handle end of life legal issues seems like potential for conflict that might work against your best interests. How can their legal department have a fiduciary duty to you as an individual if they are employed by the CCRC?

 

[gnazareToRE]

You may also contact your brokerage firm. Example - Fidelity can be the executor too. Fido has Fidelity Private Trust Company (if I got this right)

 

[teejayevans]

Suppose you were on life support, with no chance of recovery. Would they keep you alive so that they would continue getting paid? That's one example I can think of.

That’s why you need a lawyer to draft your DNR document. They’ll have specific description of what they will do in that event.

For example, they may add a specific time limit. “No chance of recovery “ is a bit vague as it depends on someone’s opinion.
But if “unconscious and on life support for a period of 7 days” is not. Depending on the complexity of your estate, it could be a significant amount of time to liquidate properties, taxes,etc....could be expensive. I would have a life insurance policy to pay the executor and have this spelled out. Insures they get paid and will be a fixed amount, ie they can’t run up hourly charges.

 

[Silver]

Audreyh1 and RunningBum.....thank you for the feedback. Perhaps I don't know enough about the legal services at the CCRC. More research will be done. Appreciate the heads up.

 

[Midpack]

It was standard with our estate planning attorney to list his firm as the executor if no one we’ve named in our trust can serve. So three family members would have to pass away or become incapacitated before it would go to the attorney, I’m OK with the attorney as a last resort. Better than a state judge. And we can amend our trust as needed to make sure there’s a long line of executors of our choice.

 

[nun]

This is timely for me as well. I'm single and all my family lives overseas and none of them are US citizens so their being executors is problematic. My only options are friends and the estate planning attorney. My friends are all around my age and I don't really want to burden them with all the work and responsibility...so the attorney is the most logical choice. But I have to pin them down about costs so my heirs know what to expect.

 

[JARON46]

Ditto.

We had wills drawn up a few years ago by a local law firm that specializes in estates and elder care law. They told us they have people who check obits, the death index, etc. daily for names of clients.

Problem is, who is going to file obit in the newspaper?