Anyone who has ever been appointed executor or administrator of
a deceased estate (Executor) would agree that
administering the estate is a task which can take considerable time
and effort, particularly in circumstances where the family
situation is acrimonious.
Where an executor is an accountant, a solicitor or a trustee
company there is a clear path to remuneration for the task. This
makes sense when the professional qualifications of the executor
are directly relevant to the day-to-day administration of the
estate.
The situation is entirely different for the greater majority of
executors, namely lay people who lack qualifications directly
relevant to the tasks at hand. These executors often need to take
time off work to meet their duties, particularly when the estate is
contested by a family member asking for further provision under the
Family Provision Act. To add insult to injury, the task
becomes truly thankless when one considers that there is no
automatic
