What Does an Executor Do? A Step-by-Step Guide to an Estate

What is an executor, and how is it different from an administrator?

An executor is the person named in a will to carry it out. An administrator does the same job when there is no valid will, or when the named executor cannot or will not act, and is usually appointed by a court or official. In some countries the family also obtains a certificate naming the legal heirs, which institutions accept for smaller assets. The titles differ; the duties are almost identical.

The simplest way to think about the role is as a temporary trustee. For a period of months, sometimes longer, you look after property that belongs to the beneficiaries. You are not the owner and you are not the judge of who deserves what. You collect, protect, pay, distribute and account, and you do it honestly, carefully and without mixing the estate's money with your own.

Being named is not an obligation. In most countries you can decline before you start dealing with the estate, and some allow one of several executors to step back while keeping the right to act later. Decide early and write the decision down.

What should an executor do in the first week?

Much less than you might fear. The first weeks are about safety, not speed. Register the death within the period your country requires; in England and Wales, GOV.UK says registration should happen within 5 days of the medical examiner's confirmation, and within 8 days in Scotland. Order several certified copies of the death certificate, because banks, insurers and pension providers often ask for one.

Then find the original will, secure the home and belongings, and tell a short list of organisations: the bank, the employer or pension payer, the landlord if the person rented, and the home insurer. Many home insurance policies change when a property is empty, so that call matters more than most.

• Register the death and order 6 to 10 certified certificates
• Find the original will, any later changes and any letter of wishes
• Lock the home, collect the post, move valuables to safety
• Tell the bank, pension payer, landlord and home insurer
• Ask family not to remove anything until values are recorded
• Start one record of every call and letter from day one

How does an executor get legal authority?

Banks, registries and buyers need proof that you can deal with the property. That proof is usually a document from a court or public official: a grant of probate or letters of administration in the UK, letters testamentary in many US states, letters of executorship in South Africa, a succession certificate or legal heir certificate in India, and so on. Without it, most institutions freeze the assets and wait.

Not every asset needs a full grant. Joint accounts usually pass to the survivor. Pensions and policies with named beneficiaries, or written in trust, often pass outside the estate. Many institutions release small balances under their own limits, and many countries have simplified routes for small estates. Singapore's courts, for example, note that an estate not exceeding 50,000 Singapore dollars may not need a grant if the Public Trustee agrees to administer it. Work asset by asset: if any asset needs a full grant, you need one.

Be careful with nominations. A nominee is not always the owner. In India, the Supreme Court held in December 2023 that a nominee of shares does not become the absolute owner and that succession law decides who inherits. When you are unsure who an asset really belongs to, ask before you act.

How do you find and value everything the person owned and owed?

You will rarely find a neat list. Follow the paper trail instead: the post (keep it for a year), twelve months of bank statements, emails and apps on the person's devices (using each provider's bereavement process, never their password), the desk and safe, tax returns, and the people who advised them. Each source points to others.

Value everything at the date of death, not the date you sell it, and keep the evidence: bank letters, platform valuations, agent or valuer reports, dealer quotes. Value honestly. Low values to reduce tax and high values to please the family both cause trouble later. Debts are found the same way, and most creditors will freeze interest if you ask in writing.

In what order should an executor pay debts and tax?

Start with one question: is the estate solvent? If the assets clearly cover all debts, tax and costs, the order is mostly about timing. If they might not, stop paying anything except essential costs and get advice, because insolvent estates follow strict rules in most countries.

Countries differ in the detail, but most follow a broadly similar pattern: funeral and administration costs, then secured debts, then taxes and other debts the law ranks first, then ordinary unsecured debts, and only then gifts, fixed sums and the residue. Treat that as the conversation to have with your adviser, not as a legal ranking.

Tax has three strands. The person's final income return; returns for income the estate earns after death; and any estate or inheritance tax. In the UK, GOV.UK sets the inheritance tax threshold at 325,000 pounds and says payment is due by the end of the sixth month after death. In the US, the IRS says an estate with more than 600 dollars of gross income in a year must file Form 1041. In Canada, the CRA explains that a legal representative who distributes without a clearance certificate can be personally liable for unpaid tax up to the value distributed.

How should an executor keep estate accounts?

Good estate accounts are not about accounting skill. They rest on three rules: one estate bank account kept separate from your own; one line in a ledger for every amount in or out, with a running balance; and one document filed for every line. Reconcile the ledger with the bank every month, while differences are easy to find.

Log your own out-of-pocket costs separately, with receipts, so you can be reimbursed transparently. At the end, the ledger becomes the final estate account: assets at death, income after death, payments, and how the remainder is divided. If you want a ready-made structure, the Bodhih Executor's Kit includes an estate administration workbook with a ledger, an estate summary with a solvency check and a beneficiary calculator.

How do you keep beneficiaries informed and handle disagreements?

Silence breeds suspicion. Send every beneficiary the same update, on the same day, every six to eight weeks, answering four questions: what has been done, what are we waiting for, what happens next, and when will you hear from me again. Treat every beneficiary of the same kind alike, including yourself if you are one.

When disagreements come, respond to what sits underneath. "You're taking too long" usually means "I don't know what is happening", so send the timeline. "That's worth more" is about fairness, so show the valuation. If anyone mentions challenging the will or making a claim, pause anything that might be affected and take legal advice promptly.

When should an executor hire a lawyer or accountant?

You do not have to do everything yourself, and in most countries reasonable professional fees are a proper cost of the estate. You can also hire help for one part of the job only, such as the grant application or the tax returns, while you handle the family, the paperwork and the records. Ask for the scope of work and a written estimate before you agree, and ask two or three firms so you can show the beneficiaries the fee is reasonable.

As a rule of thumb, paying for advice early is cheaper than paying to fix a mistake later. The situations below are the ones where executors most often wish they had asked sooner.

• There is no will, or the will is unclear, handwritten, damaged or contested
• Property, accounts or beneficiaries are in more than one country
• Estate or inheritance tax may be due, or the person's tax affairs were complicated
• The estate may not be able to pay all its debts
• There is a business, farm, trust or unusual asset
• A beneficiary is a child, lacks capacity or cannot be found
• Anyone mentions a claim against the estate, or relationships are already strained

When can an executor distribute, and how do they protect themselves?

Distribute in stages. Hand over specific gifts and pay fixed sums once the estate can clearly afford them. If the residue is large and the estate clearly solvent, an interim payment may be possible, keeping back a retention for tax and late bills. Make the final payment only after debts and tax are settled, any claim or notice periods have passed, and residuary beneficiaries have approved the final account.

Executors rarely get into trouble for being slow. They get into trouble for decisions they cannot explain. Five habits protect you: record significant decisions with your reasons, keep estate money separate, hold a retention, use the protections your country offers (creditor notices, tax clearances, beneficiary approvals), and ask before acting when you are unsure. Many executors also find it useful to check their own skills; the AssessAll Attention to Detail and Error Checking assessment is one way to see where a second pair of eyes would help, and Jobulary can turn what you learn into a development plan.

Finally, look after yourself. Work in short blocks, share tasks with co-executors, and expect grief to arrive at odd moments. The paperwork will still be there tomorrow.