E277 Professional Successor Executor for Solo Agers

Many of our Solo Ager clients ask if I’ll serve as their successor (not primary) executor. The short answer is yes. We discuss why solo agers ask for successor executors.

Planning to be a future Solo Ager

They may not be Solo Agers at the moment, but they are planning for when they will could become a Solo Ager. It’s smart: planning two steps ahead.

Married, no kids

Mrs. M and her husband named each other as their executors in their wills, which is common. At some point, one of them will die first.

The husband named his brother as his successor executor (in case Mrs. M predeceases him).

Mrs. M doesn’t have siblings or other close family members. She doesn’t want her brother-in-law acting as her executor if her husband predeceases. Mrs. M needed a successor executor of her choosing.

That is why she reached out to our office, and we are happy to work with her.

Girlfriend, no kids, wants to disinherit

Mr. C named his girlfriend as his executor, since he wants to disinherit his family members and leave everything to his girlfriend.

He is also disinheriting his nieces and nephews (next-of-kin). If his girlfriend predeceases him, Mr. C is leaving his estate to charity.

If his girlfriend predeceases him, Mr. C needs someone like a professional executor to handle everything, since there is no one else. Also, since Mr. C is disinheriting family, a professional executor is a good choice.

Along those lines, even if his girlfriend is alive, she may not want to accept her role of executor. She probably won’t want to deal with a messy contest and engage in a court battle with the heirs. The girlfriend has the option to decline and let a professional executor to step-in to handle the mess. She will still get the inheritance check at the end, but she wouldn’t have to deal with the heirs.

Mr. C set up the will to give her options: she can serve as executor if she’s ok with the situation, or she can let the professional executor take over.

Sometimes we get calls asking us to act as successor executors, and we are happy to help.

If you want to learn more about Solo Ager situations, click the link below for a free copy of my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.”