Executor duties: a checklist

Last reviewed 18 August 2026

To be named an executor is to be handed a duty as much as an honour. The tasks are not difficult one by one; the burden is in their number and their order.

What you must do, in order

In broad sequence: register the death and obtain certified copies; find the will and any funeral wishes; notify banks, pension providers and the like (the Death Notification Service does several at once); value the whole estate — assets and debts — at the date of death; report and settle any inheritance tax; apply for the grant of probate; collect in the assets; pay the debts; prepare estate accounts; and distribute what remains to the beneficiaries.

The duties behind the tasks

An executor is a fiduciary. You must act in the beneficiaries’ interests, keep proper accounts, avoid conflicts (do not sell estate assets to yourself), and not delay unreasonably. Get it wrong and you can be personally liable — which is why, for a complicated estate, executors often instruct a solicitor for the difficult parts and do the rest themselves.

Sources. GOV.UK, Responsibilities of an executor; Death Notification Service; fiduciary duties of personal representatives.