Up until a few years ago, a common estate-planning technique included the use of irrevocable trusts to own life insurance intended for the payment of estate taxes. Properly arranged, this method allowed the policy’s benefits to be used to pay the estate taxes of the person who died without the policy being included in the estate when the estate-tax liability was calculated. Today, this is still a useful technique but not nearly as prevalent. We still have an estate tax. But the threshold for being exposed to the tax has increased so much that only the very wealthy need to be concerned.

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While it is an honor to be named as an executor of a will or estate, it can also be a sobering and daunting responsibility. Being a personal representative requires a high level of organization, foresight, and attention to detail to meet all responsibilities and ensure that all beneficiaries receive the assets to which they are entitled. If you’ve found yourself in the position of “overwhelmed executor,” here are some tips to lighten the load.

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