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Many people struggle with who they should list as their Personal Representative. For some reason, people believe that they are bestowing a great honor on that person. However, being a Personal Representative can be a very difficult job. Not only is he or she grieving your loss, now they have to worry about gathering your assets, paying all of your bills, and making decisions on how to distribute items to family members and friends who are emotional.

Rather than looking at giving your Personal Representative an honor, you would do better to look at it as a job that you want to hire the right candidate for. You should be looking for a skill set that includes knowledge of finances, knowledge of basic legal concepts, the ability to problem solve, the ability to be diplomatic with people of various temperaments, the ability to get things accomplished in a timely manner, and the ability to be organized. Your Personal Representative is going to have to run an estate checking account, hire appraisers to give values to your assets, possibly hire realtors to sell your home, hire tax professionals to file your final income and estate tax returns and hire an attorney to help with all of the tasks listed above.

You are trusting your Personal Representative to carry out your last wishes. Therefore, you want someone who is committed to following your instructions above what your beneficiaries may want. 

Some people see Personal Representatives as “having all of the power” but really they do not have any power. They are bound by your wishes and the court’s supervision. The pay is minimal when considering the amount of time and effort it takes to wrap up the average person’s final affairs. Before nominating anyone, sit your candidate down and ask if he or she would be willing to perform the duties the position entails. The answer might surprise you.

Laura L. Colt, Esq. is an estate planning and bankruptcy attorney with LaRowe Gerlach LLP in Reedsburg. This article is provided as a public service by Attorney Laura Colt. While the information in this column is about legal issues, it is not legal advice or legal representation. Because of the rapidly changing nature of the law and our reliance upon outside sources, we make no warranty or guarantee of the accuracy or reliability of information contained herein.

If you would like to make an appointment to speak with Attorney Colt directly, please contact her assistant, Kari, at 608-524-8231 during regular business hours.

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