I am divorced with an estranged Child. I need to complete a will and trust. The problem is the only executor I would want listed on the documents would be a friend that is my same age which doesn’t make sense realistically. Is it possible to select a bank or other entity as an executor? This project is long overdue and I would be completing both documents online without the help of an attorney.
I think you can make a lawyer Executor which makes sense since one maybe needed to close probate. He will be allowed a % of the Estate.
Will those assets provide income to “feed” the Trusts lifetime?
Trust don’t exist on air. Trusts can & do defund. You see this often at tax sales as a house is placed in a Trust but Trust doesn’t have $ to pay property taxes, & it gets sold via Tax Sale Deed. Too bad, so sad.
A bank in & of itself cannot be an Executor. You need to find an individual. Some older banks have Trust divisions and sometimes a Trust Officer in that division can be named but it’s almost always a shared executorship with the attorney of the now deceased. The deceased would likely have a quite significant estate for Trust Officer to ever be involved in their banking.
Executor needs to be an individual as it is a person who gets placed by name as Executor on the Letters Testamentary issued by a probate court action after your death by presenting the court a valid will that specifically names an Executor.
In theory by having well crafted Trusts, you bypass need for a will.
I don’t think you fully understand what either of these very important legal documents are if your wanting to do both as on-line DIY project. You IMO really should be finding an local estate planning type of attorney to give you options as to how to deal w your assets.
please pls realize that if there is no executor named or available what tends to happen is that the State will step in and approach your estate as done for a “lineal heirships”. In lineal what happens is a outside person (usually is an attorney on a list of those participating in dependent administration programs with the court) is appointed by the court to find out who is / are / were descendants of the now deceased & find assets. They do research needed with fees & costs paid out of the deceased assets. Your estranged child will be a lineal heir and will likely be named to be the dependent administrator of your estate if no other children or siblings.
What’s in your will, can be use to determine your wishes, if that will is determined to be valid. And “valid” is subject to scrutiny.
Personally if I was your estranged child and your estate had assets & I got left out as an heir and you did a will via as a DIY on-line document that was not done by a local atty with a bar card known to the court, I’d get my own probate attorney to file to have your will invalidated. A good atty will find something in a generic online will that can be challenged. I’d get my atty to do whatever to find me as your heir. Leaving your child / children out entirely & not having someone willing to be named as Executor & doing documents via a on-line DIY will, will imho set up litigation over your estate.
Unless this (litigation) is what you want, your best off finding an estate planning atty to work with you to do fresh legal.
Thank you.