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The role of executor is an important one. This is the individual who will be in charge of finalising your estate, dealing with financial institutions, HMRC and the beneficiaries.

It is essential to choose someone who will be able to take on the role at some potentially distant point in the future, with both enough time available to deal with the administration process, which can be lengthy, and the mental capacity to handle potentially complex issues.

You need to bear in mind that the executor may not be called on for many years. It is therefore advisable to appoint an executor who is younger than you.

We look at what the job entails, what to take into account when choosing your executor and what to do if you don’t have anyone suitable.

What does an executor do?

An executor is appointed in a Will and is responsible for winding up someone’s affairs after their death. The main tasks include:

• Registering the death and obtaining a death certificate, although this can be carried out by a family member
• Making funeral arrangements; again, this can be dealt with by a family member, with the executor reimbursing the costs from the estate
• Notifying all asset holders and creditors of the death and supplying them with a copy of the death certificate
• Valuing the estate, to include asking all asset holders for a note of the value of the savings or investments and asking creditors to provide a figure for the amount owed at the date of death together with any accrued income
• Obtaining a valuation of other assets, such as property, cars, jewellery and collectibles
• Where necessary, placing statutory advertisements in The Gazette and local newspapers asking for unknown beneficiaries and/or creditors to come forward
• Calculating the value of the estate
• Calculating and paying Inheritance Tax
• Applying for a Grant of Probate
• Selling and transferring the deceased’s assets, to include clearing and selling property
• Clearing all of the estate’s debts, to include paying any outstanding income tax due at the date of death
• Preparing detailed estate accounts
• Distributing the estate to the named beneficiaries and obtaining receipts

Choosing your executor

Administering an estate is time-consuming and an executor will need to put in many hours of work to complete it. It is important to avoid delays wherever possible and correspondence should be replied to straightaway and asset holders and creditors chased regularly where necessary.

This means that it is essential to ensure that your choice of executor has sufficient time available. They will also need to be trustworthy and organised.

Because they are likely to be dealing with other family members and beneficiaries, they should also be able to get along well with everyone involved and be calm and diplomatic.

The time following a death is obviously difficult, and emotions can be running high. Disagreements may arise if someone feels that an executor is not dealing effectively with an estate, and it is important to have someone in place who will be able to manage issues promptly to prevent them from escalating.

You should speak to your chosen executor to discuss the role with them and to ensure that they are willing to take it on.

You can choose up to four executors, although it is usual to have just one or two. You can also name backups, in case your original choice cannot act when the time comes. Your executors should be able to get along well together.

What to do if you don’t have anyone suitable

It is often the case that there is no-one with the time to take on the administration. There are a couple of options in this case.

You can appoint someone anyway, and they can instruct a probate solicitor to deal with the estate administration on their behalf. The costs of this are paid from the estate. The executor would still have the title of executor, but the day-to-day work would be carried out by the solicitor, to include calculating Inheritance Tax, applying for the Grant of Probate and preparing estate accounts.

If you do not have anyone suitable to name in the Will, you can appoint a solicitor as your executor. Again, they will deal with the administration process when the time comes, and will be paid from the estate. A lay executor such as a family member or friend cannot charge the estate for their services.

Contact Us

If you would like further information please contact one of our Wills and Probate experts.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.