Sep 8, 2026 · 41 min · 11 segments
In this episode, Stacey Bell, a Wills and Estates lawyer, turns her attention to the practical side of what happens after we're gone, and what we can do right now to make life easier for the people we…
Stacey BellGuest
Osher MarksHost
You'll note that throughout this presentation I'm talking about how to set up your executor for success, because the single easiest thing that you can do to set up your family to have an easier time when you pass is to have a will.
That is, it doesn't need to be the best, but even if it is not what you want, it is better than not having anything at all.
But in terms of the overarching range of duties that your executor will have to do, the first thing they have to do is plan your funeral, which may or may not involve a party.
And I always talk about in the context of party planning because it might be a wake, it might be a funeral, you might very explicitly not want those things and you might want a celebration of life.
The words don't really matter, but there is generally some sort of coming together of your family members to celebrate the life that has been lived, and that's the first point of call that your executor will have to do.
They are the person that has the legal responsibility of signing off on those really important forms that come after someone passes, and usually that is done with a funeral director.
From there, There's a bunch of cleaning up that needs to happen, and that might be going through your desk, your office, your home, to find all the little bits and pieces that they will need to administer your estate in accordance with your will.
From there, knowing where your will is, and I know I talked about this a little bit yesterday, but knowing where the original copy of your will is is the most important part of being able to administer your estate without any issues.
But even if you've got a copy at home and it says, you know, the original is with insert person here, that is good enough.
From there, when we've got a solid understanding of what we're actually working with and what we need to do, then we'll decide whether or not we need to apply for probate.
In most cases, probate is necessary, if anything, just for protection for the people who are going to be stepping into your shoes to do what needs to be done.
But more often, most people will own property or they'll own assets that are significant enough in nature that the institutions that we will end up dealing with will require some sort of court order, which is what a grant of probate is, in order to take instructions from them and to recognise their authority to be dealing with assets that aren't theirs.
We always talk about the role of the executor as having to administer your estate in accordance with the terms of your will.
Your will can be really basic or vague, in terms of what actually should happen and I'll see a lot of cases where, you know, give everything to my spouse and if my spouse doesn't survive me then divide it equally between my children.
A lot of clients will ask me, you know, what do we need to do? Like we want to do this, can we do that? If it's not in the will, your executor cannot follow those instructions.
Now there are other documents I'll talk about later that might influence how they make decisions, but in terms of investment options or specific gifts to certain beneficiaries or certain trusts that you might want to set up, if it is not in the will, it is not an available option for your executor to do.
So that's where the future planning, making sure your document actually reflects your intentions is quite important.
When it comes to tax, the single most frustrating part of the administration side of things is having to lodge tax returns for someone who you don't know, A, what their TFN was, what their normal deductions were, if their tax returns are up to date.
So if not for your family, do it for the poor practitioner that will have to do it with them.
You'll note that throughout this presentation I'm talking about how to set up your executor for success, because the single easiest thing that you can do to set up your family to have an easier time when you pass is to have a will.
That is, it doesn't need to be the best, but even if it is not what you want, it is better than not having anything at all.
But in terms of the overarching range of duties that your executor will have to do, the first thing they have to do is plan your funeral, which may or may not involve a party.
And I always talk about in the context of party planning because it might be a wake, it might be a funeral, you might very explicitly not want those things and you might want a celebration of life.
The words don't really matter, but there is generally some sort of coming together of your family members to celebrate the life that has been lived, and that's the first point of call that your executor will have to do.
They are the person that has the legal responsibility of signing off on those really important forms that come after someone passes, and usually that is done with a funeral director.
From there, There's a bunch of cleaning up that needs to happen, and that might be going through your desk, your office, your home, to find all the little bits and pieces that they will need to administer your estate in accordance with your will.
From there, knowing where your will is, and I know I talked about this a little bit yesterday, but knowing where the original copy of your will is is the most important part of being able to administer your estate without any issues.
But even if you've got a copy at home and it says, you know, the original is with insert person here, that is good enough.
From there, when we've got a solid understanding of what we're actually working with and what we need to do, then we'll decide whether or not we need to apply for probate.
In most cases, probate is necessary, if anything, just for protection for the people who are going to be stepping into your shoes to do what needs to be done.
But more often, most people will own property or they'll own assets that are significant enough in nature that the institutions that we will end up dealing with will require some sort of court order, which is what a grant of probate is, in order to take instructions from them and to recognise their authority to be dealing with assets that aren't theirs.
We always talk about the role of the executor as having to administer your estate in accordance with the terms of your will.
Your will can be really basic or vague, in terms of what actually should happen and I'll see a lot of cases where, you know, give everything to my spouse and if my spouse doesn't survive me then divide it equally between my children.
A lot of clients will ask me, you know, what do we need to do? Like we want to do this, can we do that? If it's not in the will, your executor cannot follow those instructions.
Now there are other documents I'll talk about later that might influence how they make decisions, but in terms of investment options or specific gifts to certain beneficiaries or certain trusts that you might want to set up, if it is not in the will, it is not an available option for your executor to do.
So that's where the future planning, making sure your document actually reflects your intentions is quite important.
When it comes to tax, the single most frustrating part of the administration side of things is having to lodge tax returns for someone who you don't know, A, what their TFN was, what their normal deductions were, if their tax returns are up to date.
So if not for your family, do it for the poor practitioner that will have to do it with them.
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