La vigencia del albacea en la sucesión contemporánea: de la gestión patrimonial a la tutela de intereses personales

This paper offers a systematic, critical, and functional reinterpretation of the executor, challenging its traditional marginalization and restoring it as a structural component of contemporary succession law. Through historical, doctrinal, and evolutionary analysis, the study highlights the enduring fiduciary core of the institution and its essential role as guarantor of the testator’s post-mortem will. In contrast to the restrictive codified model, based on simplified patrimonial assumptions and institutional distrust, the research advocates a broad conception of the executor as a technique for governing the succession process. Particular attention is devoted to patrimonial, existential, and digital functions, emphasizing the executor’s role in conflict management, protection of posthumous identity, and execution of non-economic values. The paper ultimately proposes a renewed theoretical framework that positions the executor as a central legal instrument for safeguarding testamentary autonomy in complex societies