What Your Executor Needs to Know (Before They Need to Know It)

If someone has named you as their executor — or if you're trying to figure out who should be yours — this guide is for you. Being an executor is one of the most important roles in estate administration, and most people are dramatically unprepared for it.

The average estate takes 8-12 months to settle. During that time, the executor is responsible for everything from filing court documents to paying bills to distributing assets. Here's what that actually looks like.

What Does an Executor Actually Do?

The executor (sometimes called a "personal representative") is the person legally responsible for settling the deceased's estate. That means:

1. Filing the will with probate court and petitioning to be appointed executor
2. Notifying beneficiaries, creditors, and institutions of the death
3. Inventorying all assets — bank accounts, investments, real estate, personal property, digital accounts
4. Paying debts, taxes, and administrative expenses from estate funds
5. Filing the deceased's final tax return (and possibly an estate tax return)
6. Distributing remaining assets to beneficiaries according to the will or state law
7. Keeping detailed records of every transaction and decision

This is not a casual responsibility. Executors can be held personally liable for mistakes — distributing assets before debts are paid, missing tax deadlines, or mishandling estate funds.

The Timeline: What Happens When

Week 1-2: Immediate Steps

• Obtain 10-15 certified copies of the death certificate (you'll need more than you think)
• Locate the original will
• Secure the deceased's property (change locks if necessary)
• Notify the employer, Social Security Administration, and insurance companies
• Contact the estate attorney (if one was designated)
• Arrange funeral/memorial (if not pre-planned)
• Begin collecting mail — watch for bills, account statements, and insurance notices

Month 1-2: Probate and Administration

• File the will with probate court and petition for appointment as executor
• Obtain your Letters Testamentary (court-issued proof of your authority)
• Open an estate bank account (you'll need an EIN from the IRS)
• Notify all financial institutions with death certificate and letters testamentary
• Cancel credit cards and redirect mail
• Publish a notice to creditors (required in most states)
• Begin the full asset inventory

Month 3-6: Asset Management

• Manage estate investments (you have a fiduciary duty to preserve value)
• Pay valid creditor claims
• Maintain real estate (pay mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities)
• Have real estate and valuable personal property appraised
• Address any business interests (are you now responsible for a company?)
• Begin preparing the final income tax return and estate tax return if needed

Month 6-12: Distribution and Closing

• File the final income tax return (due April 15 of the year after death)
• File estate tax return if required (due 9 months after death, with 6-month extension available)
• Prepare a final accounting for beneficiaries
• Distribute assets per the will (or per state intestacy law if there's no will)
• File a petition to close the estate with probate court
• Keep records for at least 7 years after closing

The Biggest Pitfalls

1. Distributing Too Early

The most common mistake: giving assets to beneficiaries before all debts and taxes are settled. If a creditor files a valid claim after you've distributed the estate, you could be personally liable. Wait until the creditor claim period expires (typically 3-6 months after the notice is published).

2. Missing Assets

If you don't know about an account, you can't administer it. This is especially common with:

• Old 401(k)s from previous employers
• Life insurance policies purchased decades ago
• Cryptocurrency wallets
• Safe deposit boxes
• Loans owed to the deceased

Search the deceased's email, mail, and tax returns for clues. Check the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) for forgotten accounts.

3. Ignoring Digital Assets

Email accounts may contain financial records. Cloud storage may hold important documents. Cryptocurrency wallets may hold significant value. Social media accounts may need to be memorialized or deleted. Don't overlook the digital footprint.

4. Not Getting Help

You don't have to do this alone. An estate attorney can guide you through probate. A CPA can handle the tax returns. You can hire a professional to appraise property. The estate pays for these services, not you personally.

What Estate Owners Can Do to Help Their Executor

If you're reading this as someone choosing an executor — or preparing to make their job easier — here's what matters most:

1. Tell them they've been named. Don't surprise someone with this responsibility after you're gone.
2. Create a master document list. Where is the will? The trust? The insurance policies? The tax returns? The deed to the house?
3. Maintain a current asset inventory. Account names, institutions, approximate values. Updated at least annually.
4. List your professional contacts. Attorney, CPA, financial advisor, insurance agent — names, phone numbers, what they handle.
5. Document your digital life. Which services do you use? Where are passwords stored? What has ongoing subscriptions?
6. Keep it all in one place. A binder, a vault, a platform. The format matters less than the fact that everything is together and your executor knows where to find it.

Legacy on Chain was built specifically for this problem. It gives you a single, secure location to record every asset, name every beneficiary, upload every document, and share access with your executor — all with role-based permissions so they see exactly what they need, nothing more. Your executor gets a clear dashboard instead of a scavenger hunt.