An executor is a person charged with overseeing the passage of an estate to the beneficiaries. If your loved one left a will, they likely appointed an executor who was someone they trusted enough to carry out their last wishes. However, soon after taking over the estate, the executor may change and start acting based on their self-interests.
As a beneficiary, you need to take action before it’s too late. Your portion of the estate might be at stake if the executor is reckless with the assets or property.
What you need to know
An executor is meant to act in good faith, and all their decisions about the estate should have the beneficiaries in mind. For instance, an executor cannot sell assets in the estate well below their market value, nor can they waste or mismanage the estate funds or pay themselves hefty fees from the estate’s accounts.
If that happens, the executor is in breach of the fiduciary duty they owe you, and you can seek legal redress. They can lose their position on top of being asked to reimburse whatever they took from the estate.
You need evidence
Making allegations could cause problems between the family, especially if the executor is a family member. Therefore it will help to gather any evidence you can find to support your claims that they have breached their fiduciary duty.
Estate settlement can be a difficult time for everyone, and you should not let a rogue executor complicate it further. Being aware of the steps to take if you discover anything amiss will ensure you get what you deserve at the end of it all.
