What Are an Executor's Duties After Someone Dies?

Being named executor is a job, not an honor. The role carries fiduciary duties enforceable by the court and by every beneficiary, and an executor who distributes too early, pays the wrong creditor, or misses a tax filing can be personally liable for the shortfall. Most people who are appointed have never done it before and learn the executor duties one surprise at a time. This post lays them out in the order they usually arise, with the points where an executor in Virginia, DC, or New York most often needs help.

Executor duties before the court appoints you

An executor named in a will has no authority until the court (or, in Virginia, the clerk) formally appoints them. In the days after a death the nominee can still do practical things: secure the home and vehicles, locate the original will, order several certified death certificates, notify the employer and insurers, and make funeral arrangements consistent with the decedent’s written wishes. Do not start paying bills from the decedent’s accounts or distributing personal property. The nominee can also decline the role. Serving is voluntary, and someone who lives abroad, is in poor health, or simply does not want the responsibility can renounce in favor of the alternate.

Opening the estate

The first legal step is filing the will and petitioning for appointment in the decedent’s county of residence. The mechanics are described in our post on the probate process step by step. Once letters issue, obtain a taxpayer identification number for the estate from the IRS and open an estate bank account. Every dollar that comes in or goes out should pass through that account, because the accounting you file later must trace all of it. Commingling estate and personal funds is the fastest way to lose the court’s trust and the beneficiaries’ goodwill. Our probate administration team handles the appointment filings and sets up the accounting structure at the outset so the record is clean from day one.

Marshaling and protecting the assets

The executor must identify everything the decedent owned, determine what passes through the estate and what passes by beneficiary designation or survivorship, and take control of the probate assets. That means retitling accounts to the estate, changing locks if needed, keeping insurance in force on the house and cars, collecting debts owed to the decedent, and obtaining date-of-death values. Real estate, closely held businesses, and valuable personal property need appraisals. Assets passing outside probate still need attention, because the executor often has to coordinate with the beneficiaries and the institutions, and because they count toward the estate tax calculation even though they bypass the will. Our post on beneficiary designations and the will explains the split. The executor must also file an inventory; Virginia requires it with the commissioner of accounts within four months of qualification.

Dealing with creditors

The executor gives creditors the notice the jurisdiction requires (newspaper publication, direct notice to known creditors, or both), then waits out the statutory period before distributing. In DC, claims are generally barred six months after first publication; in New York, an executor who waits more than seven months after letters issue before distributing is protected against late claims. Claims that are presented must be evaluated, and the executor may reject those that are invalid or time-barred. If the estate cannot pay everything, state law sets the order of priority, with administration expenses, funeral costs, and certain taxes ahead of general unsecured debts. Paying a lower-priority creditor first and running short for a higher one is a personal liability for the executor. An executor is not personally liable for the decedent’s debts; the liability arises only from mishandling the estate’s assets.

Taxes the executor must file

• The decedent’s final federal and state income tax returns for the year of death.
• A fiduciary income tax return for the estate (federal Form 1041 and the state equivalent) for each year the estate earns income above the filing threshold.
• A federal estate tax return (Form 706) if the gross estate exceeds the federal exemption, or if the surviving spouse wants to elect portability of the unused exemption, which is often worth doing even when no tax is due.
• A state estate tax return in New York or the District of Columbia if the estate exceeds that jurisdiction’s lower threshold. Virginia has no estate tax.
• Any outstanding gift tax returns the decedent should have filed.

The executor should not distribute until the tax liabilities are known, and for larger estates should consider waiting for the IRS to close the estate tax return.

Accounting and distribution

The executor prepares an accounting of all receipts, disbursements, gains, and losses from the date of death. Virginia executors submit it to the commissioner of accounts; DC executors in supervised administration file it with the court; New York executors can settle informally with signed releases from every beneficiary or formally through a judicial accounting. Once approved, the executor distributes according to the will, gets a signed receipt from each beneficiary, pays any remaining fees, and files the closing documents. Partial distributions earlier in the process are possible but should be made cautiously, with a reserve held back for taxes and unknown claims.

Compensation, help, and the standard you are held to

An executor is entitled to reasonable compensation, set by statute or court practice in each jurisdiction, and may waive it. The executor may hire an attorney, accountant, and appraiser at the estate’s expense; relying on professional advice is itself part of acting prudently, and the firm’s trusts and estates group regularly serves as counsel to executors who have never administered an estate before. The standard is that of a prudent person managing someone else’s money: no self-dealing, no favoritism among beneficiaries, no delay without reason, and full disclosure. Beneficiaries who believe an executor has fallen short can petition the court to compel an accounting or seek removal. An executor who keeps records, communicates regularly, and asks for help before acting on anything uncertain rarely faces either.

If you have been named executor and are not sure where to begin, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can map the filings and deadlines for the estate you are administering. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Sena Sahin. Clear advice for individuals, families, and business owners.

Need help with this topic? See our estate administration and executor support page or schedule a consultation.