The primary purpose of an executor is to bring in the assets of the estate, pay all of its debts and then to distribute those assets in accordance with the terms of the Will. On paper, a relatively straight forward and simplistic set of rules. However, the reality often is far more complicated and can involve conflicts with those nearest and dearest to you. The duty placed upon an executor is a fiduciary duty. In other words, a trust relationship. An executor is placed on a high pedestal, built upon a foundation of trust. If you breach that trust relationship, you can be removed as an executor, forced to pay the unnecessary legal and other costs incurred by the estate as result of your misdeeds and be responsible for your own legal fees. An executor is required to act in a prudent and careful fashion guided by what a prudent business person would do in the same situation.