Your Role as Executor
By Kristi Vaughan
If you have been named the executor of someone’s estate, you have been given a job of great responsibility.
An executor is the person who is responsible for settling the details of a deceased person’s estate. There can be a single executor or one or more people charged with this job. An executor can be related to the deceased person, can be a friend or can be a lawyer, accountant or other professional chosen for a particular expertise. The main requirement is that you are at least 18 years old and have not been convicted of a felony.
What does an executor do?
An executor’s duties are largely administrative. They begin at the time of death and continue until the estate’s assets have been distributed and taxes and bills are paid. Duties can include, but are not limited to:
- Paying valid creditors
- Paying taxes
- Notifying Social Security and other agencies and companies of the death
- Canceling credit cards, magazine subscriptions, etc.
- Distributing assets according to the will
What is the first step?
Settling an estate begins with probating a will. As executor you will need to:
- Find the original will (often left with an attorney)
- Consider hiring an estate lawyer (recommended but not required)
- The probate court determines whether the will is valid. It is with the Probate Court that any challenges to the will must be filed.
Once the will has been declared valid, you may begin paying taxes and other claims against the estate. You also can begin distributing assets to the beneficiaries. When this process has been completed, you must provide the probate court with evidence that the taxes and bills have been paid and the assets distributed. The estate is considered settled once the court acknowledges completion of these duties.
An executor’s checklist
In its Life Advice pamphlet about being an executor, MetLife provides the following checklist for executors:
- Locate the will
- Obtain a lawyer
- Apply to appear before the probate court
- Notify beneficiaries
- Arrange for publication of notice to creditors
- Send death notices to appropriate parties
- Inventory assets and have them appraised
- Collect debts owed the estate
- Check for unpaid salary and insurance benefits
- File for Social Security and other benefits
- File for life insurance and other benefits
- File tax returns
- Pay claims against the estate
- Distribute assets to beneficiaries
- File papers to finalize the estate
