Also known as: exor · executor · executors · executrix · executrices
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An abbreviation for executor. The person appointed by will or by a court to administer a decedent's estate, pay debts, and distribute assets according to the governing instrument or intestacy laws.
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Eileen Epstein serves as exor. of her late uncle's estate. She orally promises a creditor that she will personally pay an outstanding loan the uncle owed if the estate assets prove insufficient. The creditor later sues Eileen individually when the estate cannot pay. Because the promise is one by an executor to answer for a duty of the decedent, the statute of frauds requires a signed writing, and the oral assurance is unenforceable.
Ewan Eckhart, exor. of a decedent's estate, receives notice of a class-action settlement. He must decide whether to opt out on behalf of the estate or remain bound by the judgment. The court applies due-process standards to determine whether the exor's decision binds the estate's beneficiaries.
Edith Eberhardt, exor. of a large manufacturing estate, petitions a court for permission to sell estate assets. The court must decide whether the exor. may act without further directive, testing the limits of authority over estate property.
Enzo Eastwood, exor. of a charitable foundation's estate, sues after the city denies a property-tax exemption. The court examines whether the exor's claim that the property serves a religious purpose satisfies requirements for tax exemptions.
Emanuel Escobar, exor. appointed in State A, brings suit in State B against a trustee who holds estate assets there. The court determines whether the exor's contacts with State B are sufficient to support personal jurisdiction over the trustee.
Erika Echevarria, exor. of an estate pending in State X, moves to transfer related litigation to State Y where most witnesses reside. The court weighs convenience factors and the exor's choice of forum in deciding whether transfer serves the interests of justice.
Yes. The provision covers a contract in which an executor or administrator promises to answer personally for a duty of the decedent. The promise must be made in that representative capacity and typically after appointment.
Supporting sources
No. Under the executor-administrator provision, such a promise is unenforceable unless evidenced by a signed writing. The statute prevents oral assurances from imposing personal liability on the exor. or binding the estate beyond its assets.
Supporting sources
…the books in Massachusetts a long time, that § 9 has been amended a number of times, and that § 9 is designed to make sure that executors receive actual notice. See note 1, supra . The apparent lack of relation among these three observations is not surprising, because it is not clear to what sort of question the Court of…