Are you worried your children will fight over who is executor?

Though you have undoubtedly loved every minute you have been able to spend with your children, you have likely also felt frustrated with them at times. You probably had hopes that your children would get along and be the best of friends, but it may have turned out that they fought more often than they got along.

While you may have found ways to end their squabbles most of the time, you may still worry about how they will react to your estate plans. You certainly want to make sure that your plans reflect your wishes, but you may also want your plans to lessen the chances of conflict as best as possible.

What are your concerns?

Over the years, your children may have accused you of favoring one of them more than the other one. Though you thought that they would have grown out of such nonsense, they continue to feel that way even in their adult years. As a result, you may worry that, if you name one of your children as the executor of the estate or as the trustee of a trust, another child will claim favoritism or otherwise react harshly.

Your first idea may be to name co-executors or co-trustees to handle your affairs. However, this idea may not be the best for your circumstances. Having more than one person in charge typically works best if the individuals get along. If your adult children continue to fight, they may rarely come to agreements over estate matters after your passing, and your probate proceedings and other affairs could face significant delays.

What can you do?

If you do not think that naming any or all of your children to important roles will benefit your estate, you may wonder what else you can do. Fortunately, professional services are available if you would like to hire an outside party to act as the executor or trustee

Of course, you may not want to go so far as to appoint a stranger to handle your final affairs, but you still may want to avoid naming any of your children. If so, you could choose a trusted person outside of the family to take on the position.

Making the right choice

If can be immensely difficult to choose the right person to step into such an important role, and your children’s continued squabbles may only make it more trying. If you have concerns about appointing an executor or trustee, you may want to discuss your possible options with an Arizona attorney.