Executor Checklist: Step-by-Step Duties From Day One to Closing

An executor's checklist has four stages: protect things in the first week, get legal authority from the probate court, inventory the estate and pay its debts and taxes, then distribute what is left and close the estate. Being named in the will is only a nomination. Your power to act for the estate generally starts when the court issues letters testamentary. The lists below follow the order most executors work in, and you can copy them into a notebook or spreadsheet.

Timing and forms vary by state, so use this as a framework and confirm each step with your probate court clerk. Our guide to what an executor does explains the role in more detail.

What should you do in the first week?

These steps protect the person's property and start the paperwork. None of them needs court approval.

• Find the original will and any trust documents. In California, for example, anyone who holds a will must deliver it to the court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death. If you can't find one, see how to find out whether a will exists.
• Order certified death certificates. Banks, insurers and agencies usually want certified copies. Our guide covers how many to order.
• Secure the home. Lock it, keep the insurance active and check the vacancy rules in the policy, and move valuables somewhere safe. Arrange care for pets.
• Forward the mail so statements and bills reach you. See forwarding mail after a death.
• Sort out the funeral. State law decides who has the right to control the arrangements, and it doesn't always match the executor. See executor funeral responsibilities.
• Confirm Social Security was told. USAGov says the funeral director should report the death to Social Security, and if they don't, you must. Any payment for the month of death must be returned.
• Start a log. Write down every call, letter and expense with the date. You'll use it for the final accounting.

How do you get legal authority to act?

Banks and other institutions generally won't deal with you until the court confirms your role.

1. File the will with the probate court and ask the clerk what is needed to open the case. Some estates qualify for a simpler small-estate process. See small estate probate and the US probate guide.
2. Get letters testamentary. If there is no will, the court issues letters of administration, with different terms in some states. Request several certified copies.
3. Apply for an EIN for the estate. The IRS says to do this as soon as possible, and online applications usually receive the number immediately. Mail applications on Form SS-4 take about four weeks.
4. File Form 56 to tell the IRS you are acting as fiduciary.
5. Open an estate bank account with the EIN and the letters. Pay estate expenses from it, and don't mix estate money with your own.

How do you inventory the estate and find everything?

The inventory is a dated list of what the person owned and owed. Use our estate inventory checklist to build it and our guide to the value of an estate to work out the totals. Gather these documents first:

To find accounts you don't know about, check the mail, recent tax returns, employer and pension records, and the free unclaimed property search at MissingMoney.com, which is run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. See also notifying banks of a death, claiming life insurance and digital estate planning.

How do you handle debts and creditors?

• List every known debt with the creditor, balance and date.
• Notify creditors as your state requires. Many states set a claims period. In California, creditors have the later of four months after letters are first issued or 60 days after notice is mailed to them.
• Understand who is responsible. The FTC says a person's debts are owed by and paid from the estate, and relatives usually aren't personally responsible unless they co-signed or another exception applies. Debt collectors may contact the executor but have limits on whom they can discuss the debt with.
• Pay in the right order. State law sets the order of payment, so ask the court or an attorney before paying anything beyond routine expenses. Under 31 U.S. Code section 3713, a representative who pays other debts before a claim of the federal government can be liable to the extent of the payment.

Our guide to debt when someone dies explains creditor rules in more detail.

Which tax returns does an executor file?

The IRS also says that if the person didn't file returns for earlier years, you may have to. Read our guides to the federal estate tax and estate tax by state to see whether either applies.

How do you distribute the estate and close it?

1. Wait until debts, taxes and expenses are known. The IRS says an executor of an insolvent estate can be personally responsible for tax if they distributed assets without due care. Check your state's claim period before you make large distributions.
2. Follow the will's instructions, or state law if there is no will. If the beneficiaries want something different, ask the estate's attorney or the court how to document it properly.
3. Collect receipts. Ask each beneficiary to sign a receipt for what they get.
4. Prepare the final accounting. List income, expenses, debts paid and distributions. Some courts require it, and beneficiaries can ask for it.
5. Close the estate with the court as your state requires, and file the estate's last tax return. Keep your records for later questions.

Our guide to probate fees and costs covers executor compensation. The IRS says fees an executor receives from the estate are income to the executor.

What to do next

1. Locate the original will and ask the probate clerk what is needed to open the case.
2. Order certified death certificates and apply for the estate's EIN.
3. Open the estate account and start the log.
4. Book a short consultation with a probate attorney if the estate has real estate, a business, large debts or a family dispute.