Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
duties of executor
In preparing a will for myself,
suppose I direct that some piece of property is to be bequethed to a person.
Does the executor have authority to liqudate the asset before distributing it?
If not, can an explicit authority be gvien? If the executor contacts the devisee,
they want the cash equivalnet value rather than title to the property, does the
executor have the duty to comply to this request by accomplishing a sale and
deliver the proceeds?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: duties of executor
Your first mistake is doing the will yourself. You also need to realize that the estate and will must go through probate. A will does not prevent probate, only a properly drafted trust will do that. Finally, all debts must be paid from the estate, and that could require selling the property to generate funds to pay the debts.
Re: duties of executor
a specific bequest must be given to the named beneficiary or the executor has to buy one and give it to the beneficiary -- now forget this and see a real live attorney who will answer all your questions and provide protective wording which you don't know --- help your heirs get all they are entitled to and don't screw up the wording or document
Re: duties of executor
If you are creating a holographic will (an ENTIRELY handwritten one) you can direct anything to be distributed in any means you desire. Just make sure that each and every word is hand-written by you and you alone, or proper execution of the document will still be required.
Perhaps a better method would be a trust? Please feel free to review the differences between the two that we provide on our firm's web site located at www.No-Probate.com.
Scott Linden
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