Give beneficiaries access to the will

Beneficiaries will have a strong natural curiosity as to what is in the will. You can provide a copy of the will to beneficiaries, but do not give them the original. It is the executor’s responsibility to keep the original and file it with the court. How you share the will is an area where good judgment will be important on your part as an executor.

If you believe that the allocation of assets is straightforward, there will be no question as to the legality of the will, and the contents of the document will not cause controversy, you can simply email a PDF copy of the will to beneficiaries. If you believe that there will be concerns about the contents of the document or its legality, a face-to-face meeting might be more appropriate.

When sharing the will, it also will be important to help beneficiaries understand that the probate process can be slow and cumbersome and that you’ll be back to them with more details on your specific process and the timing of it.