Your executor is the person responsible for carrying out the wishes in your will. This includes paying off any debts, filing taxes, and distributing your assets to your beneficiaries, the people you've chosen to inherit from you. Co-executors share the role and must make all decisions together.
Step 1: Go to your executors
Go straight to your executors, or follow these steps:
Log in to your Willful account.
Click Your documents in the left-hand menu (top right corner on mobile).
Find Last Will and Testament and click Review and edit.
Scroll to Roles & responsibilities and click Edit next to Executor.
Note: If you’ve completed your will, you can also click Review and edit from your Last Will and Testament tile on your home page.
Step 2: Choose your executor(s)
Primary: Your first choice for the role. To name co-executors who act jointly, you can select two people.
Secondary (recommended): Your backups, in case your primary choice can't serve. You can select up to two people here too.
Want more backups? Click Add more backups to add a tertiary choice, and keep going as many times as you'd like.
To choose someone, pick from your existing contacts in the dropdown, or click Add a contact to add someone new without leaving the page.
Not sure who to choose? Click Help with this question for quick answers on what an executor actually does, who other Willful users tend to pick, and what happens if your executor can't serve. You can also click Ask Willa for guidance based on your specific situation.
Step 3: Customize your executor's powers (optional)
Willful includes a few clauses in your will by default, covering things like registered education savings plans, carrying on a business, and digital assets. Click Customize your Executor's powers to review what each one does and remove any that don't apply to you.
Note: Changing these powers is a Premium plan feature. If you're not on the Premium plan, you can still review each clause, but you'll need to upgrade to edit them.
Step 4: Save your changes
Click Save. Your executor's names will now show under "Roles & responsibilities" on your will summary.
Reminder: Any change means you'll need to download, print, sign, and witness your updated will for the changes to be legally valid.