Executor responsibilities: a starting checklist

An executor's first task is to establish the will, protect the estate and identify what must be administered. Beneficiaries' requests for immediate payments should not displace the need to understand assets, debts and tax obligations. ^[1]

Secure the estate before collecting it

Locate the original will and codicils, check the appointed executors and record the death details. Notify relevant institutions through their bereavement procedures. Check insurance for an empty property and arrange necessary security without assuming every household policy continues unchanged.

Make an inventory of valuables before anything is removed. If a relative takes an item for safekeeping, record who has it and why; possession is not the same as distribution of a gift.

Keep authority and money traceable

Establish whether a grant is needed and who will apply. Keep estate receipts and payments identifiable, supported by invoices and statements. If an executor pays an expense personally, record it as a potential reimbursement rather than silently subtracting it from a beneficiary's share.

Obtain help before paying selected creditors where solvency is uncertain. Estate liabilities addresses that risk; estate accounts provides the record structure. Agree how co-executors will approve decisions and give beneficiaries factual progress updates without promising a distribution date before the position is known.

Separate urgent preservation from final administration decisions Start by identifying risks that cannot reasonably wait: an unsecured property, a vulnerable animal, perishable business stock or an important insurance notification. Record the reason for any immediate action and the cost incurred. Preservation does not necessarily authorise sale, distribution or unrestricted use of the deceased's funds. If authority is uncertain, ask the relevant organisation or adviser what can lawfully be done to protect the asset while the grant position is established.

Keep a custody record for valuables and documents removed from a home. Identify the item, who holds it and whether it was moved for safekeeping or another purpose. This reduces later uncertainty about whether a beneficiary received a gift or an executor simply protected property. Where several relatives have access, agree a practical method for recording movements. Avoid letting an informal clear-out determine ownership before the will, liabilities and intended distribution have been considered.

Establish which responsibilities have actually been accepted Read the executor appointments and identify who is willing and able to act. If someone is considering declining, reserving power or asking another person to apply, obtain advice before they take substantive administration steps. HMCTS distinguishes those options and their procedures. An informal agreement that one sibling will handle everything does not necessarily resolve the position of every person named in the will or the authority required by asset holders. [2]

Among acting executors, allocate practical tasks while maintaining shared access to the information needed for decisions. One might obtain bank balances while another manages property enquiries, but both should understand significant commitments and the estate's overall position. Agree how expenses, correspondence and proposed payments will be recorded. GOV.UK recommends that personal representatives dealing with an estate together agree arrangements for financial assets, withdrawals and records. The working system should reflect those responsibilities. ^[1]

Build a sequence from facts to authority to realisation Identify assets and liabilities before assuming which grant, tax report or transaction is required. Request date-of-death information and mark estimates clearly. If a business or foreign asset is involved, obtain suitable advice early enough to prevent a specialist issue blocking later steps unexpectedly. Keep valuation work separate from a decision to sell. The fact that an asset has an estimated value does not establish that the executor can realise that amount immediately or transfer it without further authority.

Maintain a short task list showing what is outstanding, who is responsible and which later step depends on it. For example, an application may depend on tax information, while a bank release may depend on the grant. Record the actual response from each organisation rather than a general expectation about how long administration usually takes. This helps explain delays to beneficiaries and directs attention to the document or decision needed to move the particular estate forward.

Control commitments and communication during the early period Before paying a creditor or making an interim distribution, consider the available assets, known liabilities and remaining uncertainties. If the estate may be insolvent, seek advice about the correct payment order instead of favouring a familiar creditor or a beneficiary with an urgent request. Keep administration expenses supported by evidence and distinguish personal expenditure from costs properly incurred for the estate. Reimbursement should be understandable in the accounts rather than silently taken from a later beneficiary payment.

Give beneficiaries factual updates appropriate to their interest, explaining completed steps and significant outstanding issues without promising a distribution date prematurely. Record decisions involving conflicting interests and obtain advice where the executors cannot agree. A checklist is useful only if it remains connected to the estate's actual circumstances. Completing a series of administrative tasks does not remove the need to consider an unexpected claim, a missing asset or a change in the estate's financial position before moving to distribution.

Set up a central record for incoming post with receipt dates and response actions. Redirecting correspondence can help reveal time-sensitive demands, but each notice still needs someone responsible for reviewing its substance and following it through.