What Happens If There Is No Executor?

This happens more often than you might think, particularly with older or informally drafted wills. When a valid will exists but does not name an executor, or the named executor cannot or will not act and no backup was named, the estate is not left without anyone able to deal with it. Instead, a person entitled under a set order of priority, usually the main beneficiary under the will, can apply for what is called letters of administration with will annexed.

This document gives that person broadly the same authority an executor would have had, and they carry out essentially the same duties, following the terms of the will rather than the intestacy rules, since a valid will still exists and still governs who inherits what.

If a will names one executor and that person has since died, or is unable to act due to illness or incapacity, the next step depends on whether a backup or substitute executor was named. Many wills, including ours at My Posh Will, prompt you to name a backup executor precisely for this reason. If a backup was named, they can step in and apply for probate in the usual way.

If no backup was named and no other executor is available, the situation is treated similarly to a will with no executor at all, and the person next entitled under the priority rules can apply for letters of administration with will annexed. See our guide on executor dies for more detail on this specific situation.

Where someone dies without a valid will, known as dying intestate, there is no executor because there is no will to appoint one. Instead, the intestacy rules set out both who inherits the estate and who is entitled to apply to administer it, usually starting with a spouse or civil partner, then children, then more distant relatives in a defined order.

The person who applies in this situation is called an administrator rather than an executor, and the document they receive is letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. Our guide on intestacy rules covers who inherits and who can apply in more detail.

Once appointed, an administrator has broadly the same responsibilities as an executor would: valuing the estate, reporting to HMRC, applying for the grant, paying debts and tax, and distributing what is left, either according to a will with no named executor or according to the intestacy rules where there is no will. Our executor duties checklist applies almost identically to administrators, aside from following the intestacy rules rather than a will's specific gifts.

It is worth noting that being entitled to apply does not mean someone is obliged to. Just as a named executor can decline to act, a person entitled to administer an intestate estate can also decline, in which case the right passes to the next person in the order of priority.

Many of these complications are avoidable at the point a will is written, simply by naming at least one backup executor in case the first choice cannot act. It is a small addition that can save significant time and occasional cost for the family left dealing with an estate.

If you are writing or updating a will yourself, our guide on choosing an executor and how many executors cover this decision in more depth.