Executor Duties: A Practical Checklist

Register the death within the legal time limit and obtain several copies of the death certificate, since many organisations will each need to see or keep one. Locate the original will, check whether it has been updated or revoked, and confirm you are indeed the executor named in it.

Secure the deceased's property and valuables, redirect post if useful, and make a list of everything you can identify: bank accounts, pensions, insurance policies, property, vehicles and personal possessions of value. Our guide on documents family need after death sets out a fuller list of paperwork to gather at this stage.

Contact every bank, building society, pension provider and insurer the deceased dealt with, notify them of the death, and ask for a date-of-death balance for each account. Our guide on telling banks someone has died covers this step in more detail, including what banks typically ask for.

At the same time, arrange a professional valuation of the property and any significant possessions if needed, and identify any outstanding debts, from mortgages and credit cards to utility bills and personal loans. This valuation exercise feeds directly into the inheritance tax reporting stage.

Once you have a reasonably complete picture of the estate's assets and debts, you or a solicitor need to report the value to HMRC using the appropriate form, and pay any inheritance tax due before or alongside the probate application in most cases. See our guide on reporting inheritance tax after death for the process.

With the tax position confirmed, apply to the Probate Registry for the grant of probate. Once issued, use the grant to open the doors to closing accounts, selling or transferring property, and formally collecting in the estate's assets.

Before any money goes to beneficiaries, the estate's debts, funeral costs, and any outstanding tax must be paid. Executors who distribute the estate before settling debts can be personally liable to pay those debts themselves, which is why many executors place a statutory notice and wait a protective period before finalising distribution.

Our guide on debts after death explains which debts an estate must pay and in what order, and how this affects what beneficiaries eventually receive.

Once debts and tax are settled, pay any specific legacies set out in the will, then distribute the residue to the remaining beneficiaries according to the will's instructions. Keep a clear record of every payment made and received throughout the process.

Finally, prepare estate accounts summarising the whole administration, money in, money out, and what each beneficiary received, and share these with the residuary beneficiaries. Our guide on estate accounts explained covers what these should include and why they protect the executor as much as the beneficiaries.