Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: Responsibilities of an Executor of an Estate

No, absolutely not. An executor is like the

manager of a company which the executor does not personally own, or the President of a corporation.

The estate is a separate entity. The executor is

merely a trustee who manages the estate. The

executor has no personal responsibility, provided

that he or she acts properly (and it is pretty

hard not to).

However, the executor's first responsibility is to find any assets or funds of the decedent's estate and use them to pay off the decedent's creditors. So it is absolutely wrong for the executor to distribute any inheritance to anyone, not even a dime, if there are any unpaid creditors. And if there is any way for the executor to raise the funds to pay off creditors, such as pursuing a lawsuit, or renting out a house, or whatever, then the executor MUST do so to protect the creditors as much as possible. So if there are any creditors unpaid, the executor should give NOTHING to heirs. However, the executor does not need to use personal funds of his own or her own.