When you draft a will, you appoint someone you trust to serve as your executor. After you die, that person will be responsible for wrapping up your estate (the property you leave behind). This means that your executor will follow the terms of your will and, if necessary, work with lawyers and the local probate court to distribute your property to your loved ones. The executor's role will include the following tasks.
1. Determine the Need for Probate
One of your executor’s first jobs will be to figure out whether your estate needs to go through probate. Probate is the official court process for setting an estate. Not every estate has to go through probate. In most cases an estate will not have to go through probate if it transfers property primarily through trusts, beneficiary designations, or transfer-on-death devices.
Many states also offer simplified probate procedures or "probate shortcuts" if the amount of property at stake is small. What constitutes "small" is defined by each state's laws.
The executor works with the court or a lawyer to figure out how much—if any—of the estate must go through probate. If probate is needed, the executor shepherds the estate through the probate process, which can take many months. Most states allow an executor to work directly with the court, but a few require the executor to work with a lawyer. The lawyer—and the executor, if the executor takes fees—gets paid from the estate property.
2. Estimate the Value of the Estate
To determine whether the estate must go through probate, the executor (possibly working with an attorney) must take inventory of the entire estate, estimating its total value. This can take some time if the estate includes rare items, such as a valuable art collection, that requires assessment by an expert. In some situations, the executor will need to hire professional appraisers.
3. Protect Property and Pay Bills
During the course of probate—or what's called "estate administration," if no probate is required—the executor must maintain and protect estate property. Some property, such as cars and homes, might require periodic maintenance. Valuable items, such as artwork and jewelry, might require safekeeping. The executor also makes payments for mortgages, loans, insurance, utilities, or any other bills that come due. During this time, the executor also wraps up smaller details of the estate, like cancelling subscriptions, closing unneeded accounts, and notifying businesses and colleagues of the person’s death.
To make sure there is enough money to cover the estate’s obligations, bills and debts are usually paid before beneficiaries get their property. If there is not enough money for both, the executor might have to sell estate property to pay the debts.
4. Distribute Estate Property
The central role of an executor is to distribute the deceased person’s property. The executor must wait until debts are paid to distribute the property to the beneficiaries. This wait, along with the costs of probate, is the main reason that people try to avoid probate. Property that passes outside of probate can be distributed by the executor more quickly.
When Is the Executor's Job Done?
After all of the bills are paid and all of the property is distributed, the probate proceeding is closed, and the executor’s job is done.
A Trusts and Estates Lawyer Can Help
The law surrounding the duties of an executor can be complicated. If you’ve been named as the executor of an estate, and you don’t know where to start, get help from a trusts and estates lawyer who has experience probating estates in your county. To learn more about how that works, see our article on how much probate attorneys charge.