If you have no one willing or able to serve as your executor, you can name a professional executor, a corporate executor such as a bank or trust company, or ask an estate planning attorney for a referral. The right choice usually depends on the size and complexity of your estate, not just on whether you know someone personally.
Most people name a family member or close friend as executor without thinking twice. But an executor's job, paying debts and taxes, then distributing remaining property to your chosen heirs, requires real organizational and financial competence, and not everyone has someone in their life who fits. Tobacco heiress Doris Duke's estate shows what can go wrong when the wrong person ends up in the role, even someone chosen out of genuine trust.
What an Executor Actually Does
An executor, per Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, is legally responsible for managing a deceased person's financial affairs: paying outstanding debts and taxes, then distributing what remains to the named heirs. This responsibility applies no matter how large or small the estate is, and it requires someone trustworthy enough to follow your instructions and competent enough to handle the practical demands of the role.
The Doris Duke Cautionary Tale
Doris Duke died in 1993 with a fortune estimated at 1.3 billion dollars. She named her butler, Bernard Lafferty, as executor, a decision her friends and prior physician had not seen coming. According to the Baltimore Sun, a Manhattan Surrogate's Court judge later ordered Lafferty removed as executor, citing wasted estate assets and substance abuse issues, after he replaced her cars with new ones, hired a chauffeur, and spent estate funds on the property where he continued to live. New York's highest court later found the judge had improperly removed him, and the matter was ultimately resolved through a settlement in which Lafferty gave up his executor role and board seat in exchange for a lump sum and an annual payment for life.
What Went Wrong
The core problem was not that Duke chose someone unusual. It was that the person she chose was not equipped to manage the practical and financial demands of administering a billion-dollar estate, and there was no professional or corporate backstop built into the plan. For an estate of any real size, that gap between personal trust and professional competence is exactly what a professional or corporate executor is designed to fill.
Option One: A Professional Executor
Professional executors, often accountants, attorneys, or others experienced in estate administration, specialize in managing the legal and financial aspects of settling an estate. Their tax and estate planning knowledge can be genuinely valuable when it comes to paying debts correctly and making sound financial decisions on the estate's behalf. Fees vary depending on the estate's size and complexity.
Option Two: A Corporate Executor
A corporate executor, typically a bank or trust company, puts an entire team behind your estate administration rather than a single individual. This option generally makes the most sense for larger or more complex estates with multiple beneficiaries or significant assets, since the team-based approach can handle more moving parts than one person working alone. Corporate executors typically charge higher fees than an individual professional executor, reflecting the additional institutional resources involved.
Option Three: Name an Alternate
If your intended executor, often a spouse, might not outlive you or might become unable to serve, always name at least one alternate executor. This is one of the most common gaps in otherwise reasonable estate plans: people plan for their first choice but never consider what happens if that person cannot serve when the time comes.
Weighing Cost Against Complexity
Professional and corporate executors both charge fees, typically calculated as a percentage of the estate or a set hourly rate, and those fees come out of the estate before your heirs receive their share. For a modest estate, this cost may outweigh the benefit, and a trusted friend or family member with reasonable organizational skills may be perfectly capable of handling the job, especially with guidance from an estate attorney along the way. For a larger or more complicated estate, especially one with multiple properties, business interests, or a large number of beneficiaries, the added cost of professional administration is usually worth avoiding the kind of mismanagement that plagued the Duke estate.
Ask a Lawyer for a Referral
If you already work with an estate planning attorney, ask whether they can refer you to a professional or corporate executor appropriate for your estate's size. Even attorneys who do not specialize in estate administration themselves often maintain relationships with professionals who do.
How FastWill Helps You Name an Executor
FastWill's online will builder walks you through naming an executor and at least one alternate as a standard part of the will creation process, so this decision does not get left as an afterthought the way it did for Duke's estate. If your children's care is a related concern, our guide on guardianship and your will covers naming a guardian using the same careful, backup-first approach, and our overview of what a probate lawyer costs can help you weigh professional fees against the size of your estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I name a bank as my executor?
Yes. Banks and trust companies commonly serve as corporate executors, particularly for larger or more complex estates, though they typically charge higher fees than an individual.
How much does a professional executor cost?
It varies based on your estate's size and complexity and the professional's own fee structure. Ask for a clear fee estimate before naming anyone in this role.
What happens if I do not name an executor at all?
A probate court will appoint an administrator to fill the role, following your state's default priority order, which may not match who you would have chosen yourself.
Should I always name a backup executor?
Yes. Naming only one executor with no alternate is one of the most common estate planning mistakes, since your first choice may be unable or unwilling to serve when the time comes.
Can a friend serve as executor even without financial experience?
Yes, though they can also hire professional help, such as an accountant or attorney, to assist with the more technical aspects of the role once they are serving.
Naming the right executor protects your estate from the exact problems Doris Duke's estate faced. Build your will with FastWill and name your executor and a backup with confidence.
