Can the beneficiary also become the executor of the estate? ?

i have to wait until i am 25 in order to inherit the house. am i allowed to also become the executor of the estate?

where do i go to find out if my state will allow it or not?

To the best of my knowledge, no state prohibits a beneficiary of a will from being the executor (or the beneficiary of a trust from serving as a trustee).

The one restriction that I can think of is on a beneficiary serving as a witness to the will or trust.

Having said all of that, I would strongly recommend that you talk to an attorney who regularly practices probate in your area as he/she will be more familar with your state's laws than I would be.

EDIT:

As noted above, the best way to find out is to talk to an attorney as you will need one anyway to help you with the paperwork required of an executor.

Short of doing that, most states have now posted their statutes on-line. You will want to look in the part entitled "probate code" and the sub-part about "administration of estates" or something somewhat similar to that (since each state does things slightly different). However, given that nothing is as confusing as documents written by lawyers and revised by non-lawyers (e.g. most legislation), it may not be written in the clearest and plainest English.

In California no, a beneficiary cannot be the executor of an estate.

Besides, unless you are the only beneficiary I wouldn't see why you would want to serve as executor. It's a huge job that can be very tedious and time consuming.

When a will is filed for probate, the court appoints a person to be executor.

Of course, the executor may also be a beneficiary.

I know that is the case at least in some States. Check your State.

Ingrid