How do I pick the right Executor for my will ?

If you die without making a will, I think your closest relative gets your belongings. If nobody claims it, like your money, I think it just goes to the government.

As for the other stuff it's simply up to you to choose. You're the only one who knows your family well enough to decide. Though should you not think about future family as well? Or are you going to rewrite it as time goes along?

JordanJP said:

I even thought of appointing my financial adviser as the executor. I like him and get along with him pretty well, I learned a lot from him and always enjoy his company. But then I think my father would be upset If I don't choose him,

You have answered your own question Jordan. If you trust your financial advisor to do the right thing, and it seems you do, then go with that.

I never appoint family members as executors for one reason only : they may already be dealing the grief & stress from my passing, so I take that burden off them, by appointing someone not as close to me that is financially astute. Explain that to your father, and I'm sure it will be fine.

Get it sorted and get on with life. 21 is far too young to be worrying about wills

Regards,
Golden

Golden said:

Get it sorted and get on with life. 21 is far too young to be worrying about wills

Sadly, the unfortunate does happen sometimes. It's good that he's taking care of this now while he's still healthy. As they say, family matters can get complicated. Better to have things in the open now and sort them while you can. Similarly, I had a lawyer friend do things up for me. Best of luck to you.

i note you were last here a week ago jordan ,i do hope that executer isnt busy at the moment,
P.S. dont forget your good buddy Boohbah when making the split!

As was stated above, I would go with the financial advisor. There is one thing to consider though. If the advisor is a lot older than you are, he will die long before you. Make sure that he is part of a corporation so that the corporation would continue after he is gone. You don't want your affairs to die with him.

In todays world, I find it very positive that even a young person like you, Jordan, thinks about making a will. In a way, it shows you care of those left behind.

You say your life is a bit complicated. My recommendation is to choose an executor outside the family, especially when you told us the three families involved don't get along very well. You can then choose the easy way, not telling this to your family, only mentioning your reasons in the will, or you can choose the harder but more honest way and tell your father and uncle.

That's how I have done it. My brothers took it first as an insult when I told that I let my lawyer take care of executing my will, if and when it's my turn to finally use the open one way ticket to the downstairs I've had waiting sometime already. I had not told them earlier but last fall lying in hospital after a stroke, I thought it was time to tell. I told it honestly, that I had to choose an outsider; my two sons are living in my native Finland, where the law protects them, giving them automatically half of what I leave behind because I still have a Finnish passport (in Finland, if you have spouse and / or children, you can give only half away in will; the other half is divided equally to spouse and children). But, I leave in Germany with a German wife, and different inheritance laws. She should also get something. We have no children but we have very dear godchildren who I also would like to help, to get a good education and a nice start for an independent, adult life.

So it is a situation where you have to find a balance between your feelings, your loyalty and the reality. The best thing you can do is to assure that whatever happens, your will is executed as you wanted it to be executed, without unnecessary rivalry between different people or families. That's why I think that an executor should always be an outsider, with nothing to gain but fee.

Kari