All About Estates

Do I need more than one executor?

Have you wondered whether or not one executor can manage your estate?

Say your estate includes significant assets beyond what is in your bank account and in your home.  Maybe you own shares in a private company that operates a business or holds an investment portfolio.  Perhaps for other reasons you have multiple wills to deal with different assets.

In my experience, people have appointed two executors for their general will, even if there are no significant business interests. As the saying goes “… two heads are better than one …”, and the burden of safeguarding and realizing on the assets and settling liabilities can be split.

Be practical if you feel you need for more than one executor.  Interview the prospects and make sure they know little about each other i.e. eliminate the potential for conflict.  Ideally they should live in the same geographic region – they both need to be signatories on the estate bank account for instance and sign off together in all matters.  Perhaps even set out in a separate memo what matter(s) you wish each of them to handle.

Spread the responsibility around and your heirs will thank you!

Steven Frye

About Steven Frye
Baker Tilly WM LLP is a leading, independent audit, tax, and business advisory firm based in Vancouver and Toronto, serving clients across Canada. Drawing on well-trained teams across a variety of disciplines, we ensure the alignment of our professional’s skills and experience with client requirements, resulting in exceptional service and business outcomes.