Would you say ‘yes’ immediately if you were asked by a family member or friend to be an executor of their will?  Maybe you would, but you shouldn’t take the decision lightly as you will be taking on some fairly important responsibilities in administering the deceased’s estate.  In fact, many people find the task too onerous and ask a solicitor to take over.

What are an executor’s main tasks?

As the executor of a person’s will (also known as personal representative) your duty is to collect in the estate and administer it properly.  It’s highly likely that you will not be the only executor named in a will and between you, you will need to carry out a number of duties, which, amongst other things, may include:

• Registering the death. You’ll need know how many copies of the death certificate are required to be able to provide various people with proof of death.
• Find the will. You may have to provide a copy of the death certificate and identification if it is held by a solicitor or other organisation.  Make sure you make enough copies of the will for other executors and beneficiaries.
• Identify the assets to find out if you need to apply for a grant of probate, or write to the bank or building society if the estate is valued at less than £5,000 to ask for assets to be released (although various institutions do set their own limits).
• Notify family and friends of the death and arrange the funeral. You many need to put a notification in a local newspaper.  You’ll need to arrange payment for the funeral, but you should be able to access money from the deceased’s bank account to pay for it if you take the death certificate, your identification and the funeral invoice.
• Advise property and contents insurers and check what, if anything, needs to be done.
• Check any property is safe and advise service providers, such as gas, electricity, telephone and the local authority (council tax) of the death, making sure they comply with any insurance requirements. You may need to collect overpayments.
• Arrange re-direction of post.
• Deal with bank accounts and credit cards.
• You might need to stop direct debits, TV licence or other payments etc.
• Deal with any salary, pension or benefits that have been paid to the deceased. Check whether any income tax is owed.
• Sort out any other insurance policies that the deceased may have held.
• Inform relevant government departments relating to issues such as passport, driving licence, housing etc. You can find out how to do this from the Registry Office, or you can use the Tell Us Once service, whereby you can report the death to most government departments in one go.
• Find out about the deceased’s debts and sort out any outstanding bills. Again, you might need to put a notice in the press and give a couple of months to hear before you distribute the estate.  If you don’t put out this notice, you could become personally responsible for paying bills if you have already paid out all of the money in the estate.  Otherwise the beneficiaries will be responsible.
• Sell any property or other assets if necessary in order to transfer them to beneficiaries.
• Keep an account of the estate – any payments made or receipts
• Pay any outstanding taxes.
• Distribute any specific personal property that was bequeathed – but get valuations in case the estate is likely to be subject to inheritance tax (IHT).

As an executor, you can claim reasonable expenses for administering the estate, but you should take professional advice on this.

It is important to remember that once you have acted as an executor of an estate – you have that role for life.  Should any issues crop up at any time after you have administered the estate, you will need to deal with them.  It is possible to take out executor insurance.

Who can be an executor?

The person writing the will can choose anyone they like to be an executor, as long as they are aged 18 or over.

It is normal for spouses, partners, children and other relatives to be chosen, as well as close friends.

There needs to be at least one executor, although having two or more is easier as the work can be shared.  You can choose as many executors as you like but a maximum of 4 can be named on the grant of probate.

Many people think that you cannot benefit from a will if you are an executor.  This is not true.  An executor can be named in a will as a beneficiary.  You cannot, however, be a beneficiary in a will if you have witnessed it.

Solicitors are often chosen as executors of wills as they have specialist knowledge that can help everything to run smoothly – in fact, in the aforementioned report, 12% of people who had been appointed as executors didn’t know what to do and appointed a professional to help.

Can I change my mind after I have accepted the role?

In some cases you can.  For example:

• If you have changed your mind before the person naming you as an executor dies, you will need to ask them to change their will.
• If the person has just died, you will need to speak to the Probate Registry, or a solicitor, to find out how to deal with it.
• If the person has died, but you haven’t started to deal with the estate, you will probably need to complete a form of renunciation.

If you have already started to deal with an estate, you cannot resign as an executor. There may be avenues available should you become ill or be unable to continue to act.

Can I be removed as an executor?

Yes, if a beneficiary thinks that you are not properly administering the estate, they can apply to court to have you removed or substituted.

How can Graysons help?

We can help you to draw up your will and offer advice on choosing your executors.  We can also act as one of your executors should you choose it.

We can also help your executors to administer your estate if you die.  Every estate is different and some are more complex than others. We offer a full range of services to help in the administration of estates, from simply obtaining a grant of probate to full administration.

Contact us for a no obligation consultation where we will be happy to advise you on your particular circumstances.

Chris Shaw, wills and probate executive.