You may have deeply reflected on who would be the best fit as the executor of your estate. Even when you think you have found the perfect person, circumstances may prove otherwise. And once this comes to light, you sadly will no longer be around to reverse this decision. Overall, this may cause any unnecessary headaches for your beneficiaries, who are likely already going through such a hard time with your passing. With all that in mind, please continue reading to learn the actions that may constitute the removal of your executor and how an experienced Putnam County wills attorney at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, can work hard to preserve your estate.

What actions constitute the removal of my estate’s executor?

All in all, your appointed executor carries a fiduciary duty, which is a legal obligation to act in the best interest of you, the testator of the will document, and your loved ones, the beneficiaries of your estate. Therefore, whenever there is a breach of duty, the New York State Surrogate’s Court may find grounds for their removal. Without further ado, your executor should not and cannot take any of the following actions while working in this very important role:

  • Your executor must not ignore or delay paying off your estate’s outstanding debts and taxes with your remaining assets.
  • Your executor must not use your estate’s assets for personal gain, even if they intend to return them eventually.
  • Your executor must not modify the provisions written in your will document based on what they personally think is best.
  • Your executor must not neglect to give your beneficiaries important updates on your estate’s status, regardless of their personal feelings toward them.

What happens if my executor is stripped of their title?

Your beneficiaries may pick up on signs that your executor is performing poorly. This may prompt them to take legal action against your executor, accuse them of misconduct or estate mismanagement, and seek recovery for the damages they supposedly caused. If the New York State Surrogate’s Court agrees that your executor acted negligently, they may deem them unfit to continue in this role any further and strip them of their duties.

At this time, the court must replace your original executor with someone else. This responsibility may be passed down to the individual you assigned as your successor executor. But if you did not name anyone, the court may look into their priority list. This may be a surviving spouse or adult child, but usually, it is in the best interest of the overall estate to appoint someone who is not also one of its beneficiaries. And so, this may make your estate administration process overly complicated.

If you still have lingering questions at this point in time, please do not hesitate to reach out to a skilled estate planning attorney in Putnam County. The team at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, will certainly be the perfect fit for you.