Generally, a will lists not only who is to receive certain assets of an estate but also the address of that person. It is possible, though, that beneficiaries predeceased the will-writer, married and therefore have a different last name, or moved several times and therefore have a different address. It is important to collect up-to-date contact information. If you have an executor.org account, you can use our beneficiary contact list and securely save all relevant information here on our site.

Communication might be your most important job in the executor role. Things will not always go as expected in this process, so good communication will help beneficiaries know that you have been diligent in your efforts. It is most common that people listed in the will as beneficiaries will attend the funeral, send a sympathy card to close relatives of the deceased, or leave an online comment on an obituary. You can generally get updated names and contact information through these methods if necessary. An attorney also can help track down hard-to-reach beneficiaries.