Having an executor of your will is like having a manager of your affairs (your estate) after your death. Your executor is named in your will; it is his or her role to carry out the terms of your will.
With lengthening life expectancies, better health in later years, and increasing divorce rates, it’s not surprising we’re seeing more “twilight relationships” blossom.
In the last edition of Off the Record, we began exploring what can be a highly contentious issue: challenging a Will. As I outlined in Challenging a Will: Part 1, there are two main legal grounds on which someone can question a Will. The first, which we explored in Part 1, is that the Will’s legal validity is disputed.
Death can bring more than mourning for those left behind. Too often it leads to animosity and arguing around the departed loved one’s Will – especially when its provisions come as a surprise.
While most people are aware they need a Will, and might have given clear directions as to how they wish their business duties to be dealt with after they pass, many don’t give a second thought to how their business would fare if they were suddenly mentally incapacitated.
For wills to be valid they must comply with a number of legal formalities; they must be in writing and there must be two witnesses who must attest to the will-maker signing the will in their presence.
