Named Executor: What to Do in the First 30 Days

The short answer: in the first month, an executor's job is mostly to protect things and gather information, not to hand anything out. Find the original will and get it to the probate court on time, order certified death certificates, secure the house, car and mail, make a list of what the person owned and owed, and open the probate case so the court gives you legal authority (usually called letters testamentary). Then get an EIN for the estate and open an estate bank account. Do not pay family members, sell anything, or settle debts from your own pocket until you have that authority and a full picture. Almost every executor mistake that ends in a family argument starts with doing something too early.

This is a general guide for the United States. Probate is run by each state, deadlines differ, and an hour with a probate attorney in the state where the person lived is worth paying for if the estate has a house, a business, or family members who disagree.

Before anything: are you actually the executor?

Being named in a will makes you the nominated executor. You become the executor, with power to act, when the probate court appoints you. Until then, banks will not talk to you about the person's accounts, and you cannot legally sell or transfer anything that was theirs.

You are also allowed to say no. If the job is too much, you can decline before appointment, and the court will look to the alternate named in the will or appoint someone else. It is far easier to decline at the start than to resign halfway through.

If there is no will, nobody has been named, and a family member applies to the court to be appointed administrator. Our guide to when someone dies without a will covers that path.

Week one: secure and find

1. Find the original will. Not a copy: the signed original. Look in the person's papers, a home safe, a safe deposit box, or ask the lawyer who drafted it. Many states require whoever has the original to file it with the probate court within a set time after the death: California gives 30 days, Florida 10. Find out your state's rule this week.

2. Order certified death certificates. You will need more than you think. Banks, insurers, the probate court, the DMV and pension providers each want their own certified copy. Ten is a common number for a typical estate. The funeral home usually orders the first batch; more come from the county or state vital records office. If anything on the certificate is wrong, fix it now: correcting a death certificate explains how.

3. Secure the property. Lock the house, change the locks if others have keys you cannot account for, and make sure it is heated, insured and checked regularly. Keep the car parked and insured; do not let a relative "borrow" it (the deceased person's car covers what to do with it). Remove valuables that would be easy to take. An empty house is a target, and insurance policies can lapse if a home sits vacant.

4. Forward the mail. Mail is how you will discover the accounts, policies and debts you did not know about. As the executor or administrator you can ask the post office to forward it to you.

5. Find out about the funeral wishes and costs. The funeral often happens before you are appointed. Keep every receipt: reasonable funeral costs are usually repaid from the estate, and they generally rank ahead of most other debts.

Week two: list everything

Start a single document or spreadsheet, and keep adding to it for the whole process.

What they owned: bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, real estate, vehicles, business interests, valuable personal property, money owed to them, and digital accounts.

What they owed: mortgage, car loan, credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, taxes.

Who gets each asset, and how: this is the column people forget. Many assets do not go through the will at all. Life insurance and retirement accounts go to the named beneficiary; joint accounts go to the surviving owner; payable-on-death accounts go to the named person. These pass outside probate, and your job with them is usually just to tell the beneficiaries and help with paperwork. Our guides to life insurance claims and debts after death explain which is which.

Look through bank statements, the last tax return, the mail and the person's phone and email for clues. A recurring payment to an insurer is a policy; a 1099 form in last year's taxes is an account.

Week two to four: open probate

6. File the probate petition. In the county where the person lived, file the will and a petition asking the court to admit it to probate and appoint you as executor. Many states have a simplified process for small estates; check the threshold in your state before filing anything complicated. Courts commonly publish the forms online, and many have a self-help centre.

7. Get your letters testamentary. Once the court appoints you, it issues the document that proves your authority. Order several certified copies. Banks, brokers and the title company will each want one.

8. Get an EIN for the estate. An estate is a separate taxpayer. Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number using Form SS-4 (the online application gives you the number immediately). You will need it to open the estate account and to file the estate's income tax returns.

9. Tell the IRS you are acting. File IRS Form 56, the notice of fiduciary relationship, so the IRS sends the person's tax correspondence to you.

10. Open an estate bank account. Use the EIN and the letters testamentary. From now on, every dollar that comes in to the estate goes into this account and every estate bill is paid from it. Never mix estate money with your own. This one rule prevents most accusations of wrongdoing.

Who to notify in the first month

• Social Security. The funeral home usually reports the death; confirm it has been done. Any payment received for the month of death or after may have to be returned.
• Banks and financial institutions. Notify them, ask what is held and whether any accounts have a named beneficiary.
• Pension and annuity providers, the employer, and insurers.
• The three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), to flag the death and reduce the risk of identity theft.
• Creditors. Your state will set out how creditors are formally notified, often a published notice and a deadline for claims.

Who to notify when someone dies has the full list with what each one needs.

What not to do in the first 30 days

• Do not distribute anything, including "Mom wanted me to have this ring". Until debts and taxes are known, a gift you hand out may have to be taken back, and you can be personally liable.
• Do not pay the person's debts from your own money. You are not responsible for them, and the estate may not be able to repay you in full.
• Do not sell the house or car before you are appointed, and check whether your state requires court approval or notice to heirs before a sale. Inheriting a house covers the decisions there.
• Do not throw things away. Paperwork that looks like rubbish (old statements, letters from insurers) is often how assets are found.
• Do not cancel the home insurance or utilities while the house is still part of the estate.

Keep the family informed

Executors get into trouble less often for mistakes than for silence. Send the beneficiaries a short update every few weeks: what you have found, what you have filed, what happens next, and roughly how long probate takes in your state (often many months; a year is not unusual). People who know what is happening are far less likely to assume the worst.

It also helps to separate the money from the memory. Families that argue over the estate often agree easily on remembering the person. A shared memorial page, where every branch of the family can add photographs and stories regardless of who is handling the paperwork, gives people something to do together. Online memorial for a parent covers how siblings usually split that work.

Later, but not forgotten

Two things come after the first month but should be on your list now. The person's final income tax return is due by the usual deadline for the year they died, and the estate may need its own return; the final tax return after a death explains both. And at the end, you will account to the beneficiaries and the court for every dollar, which is why the separate estate account matters.

Quick answers

What should an executor do first? Find the original will, order certified death certificates, secure the property, and file the will and probate petition with the court in the county where the person lived.

Can an executor act before probate is opened? Only in limited ways: securing property and arranging the funeral. To access accounts, sell property or pay debts from the estate, you need the court's appointment, usually called letters testamentary.

Does an estate need its own EIN? Yes, in almost every case where you open an estate bank account or the estate earns income. Apply with IRS Form SS-4; online applications are issued immediately.

Can I refuse to be an executor? Yes. You can decline before the court appoints you, and the alternate named in the will or another person will be appointed instead.

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