An estate plan helps to inform a person’s family members and other beneficiaries of their intentions. But it isn’t used until the person has passed away, so someone else needs to take on the role of ensuring that the estate plan is followed. Generally, this person is known as an estate executor or an estate administrator.
Part of the process is simply informing the rest of the family about what the estate plan says and what they should expect. Does this mean that the executor has to set up a will reading so that they can sit down with all of the beneficiaries and inform them of what they’re going to inherit?
Will readings are seldom used today
In the past, will readings were very common. But there was a practical reason for this: Most people were functionally illiterate. They couldn’t read on their own, so someone else had to do it for them.
Today, the majority of people in the United States can read the estate plan on their own. The estate executor is still responsible for informing them of the contents of that plan. But instead of setting up a will reading, the executor typically just makes copies of the documentation. They can then inventory all of the assets, pay off debts, distribute the paperwork and tell beneficiaries what they should expect to receive. Their final job is to divide the remaining assets – after debts and financial obligations have been met – to the beneficiaries.
This can be a complicated process and it sometimes leads to legal disputes. Those involved must know exactly what steps to take throughout the estate administration process.