‘We have always been civil’: My sister refuses to replace me as executor. Can I step down before she dies?

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The Moneyist

‘I haven’t seen my sister since our mother’s funeral more than 20 years ago’

Updated Aug. 2, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET

Dear Quentin,

I am the executor and sole beneficiary of my sister’s estate. There is no alternate executor named.

My sister lives in Seattle, while I live in Denver. Neither of us has ever married, and we have no other family. I agreed to serve as her executor many years ago, but we are both now in our early 70s. Her estate is fairly typical — a condo, mutual funds and other assets — with an estimated value of around $1 million.

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