Definitely. Most executors don’t understand, by hiring a professional executor, such as a lawyer or trust company to act as their agent, that they will still have to do a ton of legwork.

A professional executor will constantly be asking the named executor to gather the information required for probate and at other points during the estate settlement process.

Professional executors either charge by the hour or as a percentage of the estate value, which can add up quickly. And they’re busy! Most have too many files on their desk, so completing simple administrative tasks can take forever The longer they take, the more money they make.

Another thing that most people don’t know, is that being the named executor carries fiduciary/legal responsibility until the estate is fully distributed and tax clearance has been received. This means that if the named executor delegates the work to a professional and the professional misses something or makes an error that causes the estate to lose money, the named executor may be sued by the beneficiaries.

Use QE to monitor the work of a professional executor to know that everything that should be done is being done, and on a timely basis.

Our founder, Melissa Best MBA, CFA, TEP, over 32 years as a money manager, heard non-stop complains from client executors, who had delegated the work to lawyers or trust companies, that it would have been faster, easier and cheaper to have done most of it themselves. Hence the genesis of QuickEstate™.