You've been named executor: what the job actually involves

Being named the executor of someone's will sounds like an honour, and it is — but it is also a legal job with real duties, real personal liability, and a workload most people don't appreciate until they are in the middle of it, usually while grieving. The executor is the person named in the will to administer the estate: locate and prove the will (often through probate), identify and secure the assets, notify the institutions, pay the deceased's debts and final tax, hold off distributing until any claims against the estate are resolved, hand out what's left strictly according to the will, and keep proper accounts the whole way through — all while acting impartially and carefully, with personal liability if it goes wrong. A simple estate might be wrapped up in well under a year; a moderately complex one can run past a year; and a complex or contested estate can take two years or more. This article explains what the role actually involves — the duties, the liability, the rough timeline, when to get professional help, whether you get paid, and how to decline if you can't or shouldn't take it on.

What does an executor actually do?

The executor administers the estate: collect the assets, pay the debts, distribute the rest in line with the will. It is a fiduciary role — meaning you must act in the interests of the estate and the beneficiaries, honestly, impartially, and with reasonable care (Moneysmart). It is a legal office, not just a family courtesy, and that is the part most people underestimate.

What are the first steps after being named executor?

Locate the will and confirm it is the latest valid one. Confirm or arrange the funeral — the will may state wishes, and the executor often carries the authority and responsibility for it. Obtain the death certificate and get several certified copies, because you will need them repeatedly. Secure the assets: insure and lock up the home, safeguard vehicles, valuables and documents, redirect the mail, and pause ongoing payments where appropriate. Then build an initial picture of the estate — what there is, what is owed, and where it all sits.

When is probate required and how does it work?

Probate is the Supreme Court's formal recognition that the will is valid and that you have authority to act on it (Moneysmart). It is generally required where assets are held solely in the deceased's name above the holding institution's threshold, or where there is solely owned real estate; the exact thresholds vary by bank and by asset. The application brings together the will, the death certificate, and an inventory of assets and liabilities, and in New South Wales most uncontested applications are now filed online, with a public notice of intended application published first (Supreme Court of NSW). How long the grant takes depends on the registry and whether anything is queried — often a few weeks, longer if the application is requisitioned or the will is contested. Probate is not always needed: small estates and jointly held assets that pass to the survivor by survivorship can frequently avoid it.

How do you gather and manage the estate assets?

Notify the institutions — banks, super funds, share registries, Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, utilities and insurers. Collect the assets: close accounts, transfer or sell holdings, and deal with the home. Keep the assets maintained during administration — the home insured, investments managed prudently. And open a dedicated estate bank account so estate money never mixes with your own; blending the two is a common and entirely avoidable error.

What debts, tax, and claims must you deal with before distributing?

You must pay the deceased's debts from the estate before distributing anything, including the final personal tax return up to the date of death and any tax on income the estate earns during administration. The order of priority is funeral and administration costs first, then debts, then beneficiaries. You must also leave room for family-provision claims — applications by eligible people who say they were not adequately provided for, which run on a strict clock. In New South Wales that clock is 12 months from the date of death (Succession Act 2006 (NSW), Chapter 3; Legal Aid NSW). Distributing too early is the classic trap: if you pay the beneficiaries and then a successful claim or an unpaid tax bill lands, you can be personally liable for the shortfall. The discipline is simple but firm — pay the debts and tax, wait out the claim period, and only then distribute, no matter how much the beneficiaries press you to hurry.

How should you distribute the estate and keep accounts?

Distribute strictly according to the will — specific gifts first, then the residue, meaning whatever is left over. Keep proper accounts of everything received, paid and distributed, because beneficiaries are entitled to see them, and obtain a receipt or release from each beneficiary on distribution. Handle the personal possessions with particular care: the jewellery, furniture and keepsakes cause more family conflict than the money does, and an executor caught between squabbling siblings is in an unenviable spot.

What is the personal liability risk for executors?

You are personally liable for losses to the estate caused by negligence or breach of duty — distributing before debts and claims are settled, failing to insure the home, or selling an asset carelessly below its value. You protect yourself by obtaining probate, publishing a notice of intended distribution for creditors where the state allows it (which limits your liability for debts you had no notice of), waiting out the claim period, and getting professional advice for anything complex. That exposure is precisely why the role is more than a signature.

Do you get paid as an executor?

You are always entitled to be reimbursed for genuine out-of-pocket expenses. You may also be entitled to commission for your time and effort — but only where the will provides for it, the beneficiaries agree, or the court approves it, and the amount is at the court's discretion rather than a fixed entitlement. Family-member executors often waive commission; professional executors charge it.

When should you get professional help, and what does it cost?

Doing it yourself is feasible for a simple estate — one or two beneficiaries, straightforward assets, no disputes. For most estates, solicitor-assisted administration, where a solicitor handles probate and the legal work and is paid from the estate, is the sensible path. For genuinely complex estates — business assets, foreign assets, a contested will, an insolvent estate, or warring beneficiaries — engage a solicitor and possibly a trustee company. Trustee company commissions are typically charged as a percentage of the estate and can be substantial, but the cost comes out of the estate and is usually money well spent against the risk of getting it wrong.

Can you say no to being an executor?

Being named does not force you to act. Before you start administering — before what the law calls "intermeddling" — you can renounce the role entirely. If you are elderly, unwell, far away, conflicted, or simply without the capacity to take it on, renouncing up front is far better than doing the job badly. Once you have started acting, stepping down is harder and usually needs the court's approval. Declining is entirely legitimate.

How do these duties play out in practice?

These are illustrative only and not personal advice; estate administration is state-specific and warrants legal advice for anything beyond a simple estate.

Bridget, 68, is executor for her late sister. The estate is simple — a bank account, a share portfolio, a car, and a home, all solely owned, left equally to Bridget and her brother, who get on well. On these facts the job is manageable and probably do-it-yourself feasible with a solicitor engaged just for probate. The sequence is to secure and insure the home, get the death certificate, apply for probate, notify the bank and share registry, open an estate account, lodge the date-of-death tax return, pay any debts, wait out the family-provision claim period, and then sell or transfer the assets and distribute equally — keeping clean accounts and getting her brother's release on distribution. The main discipline is to hold off distributing until the debts, tax, and claim period are dealt with, even though both of them are keen to wrap it up. Bridget waives commission, since she is a beneficiary and it is her sister.

Colin, 74, is named executor for an old friend with a complicated estate — a small business, an investment property, a property overseas, and a will that one estranged child has already signalled they may contest. On these facts Colin should think hard about whether to act at all. The estate is complex, the workload and liability are significant, and he is elderly and grieving. Two sensible options present themselves: renounce before intermeddling and let a professional executor (a trustee company or a solicitor) take it on, or act with heavy professional support — a solicitor for probate and the contested-will defence, a cross-border specialist for the overseas property, and an accountant for the business and tax. Either way, he must not distribute anything until the contest and any family-provision claim are resolved, because distributing into a contested estate is exactly how an executor ends up personally liable. On these facts, renouncing in favour of a professional may well be the kindest outcome for both Colin and the estate.

If you are named an executor — or you are choosing one — the headline is that it is a real, months-long legal responsibility with personal liability, not a ceremonial title. Understand the sequence (secure the assets, obtain probate, gather and maintain, pay debts and tax, wait out claims, distribute, account), hold firm against distributing too early, get professional help for anything beyond a simple estate, and remember you can renounce before you start if you cannot take it on. Timelines, thresholds, commission and claim periods vary by state, so confirm the specifics with a probate solicitor in the relevant state before relying on them — but the shape of the job, and the discipline it demands, is durable.

Sources

• Moneysmart (ASIC) — Wills and powers of attorney
• Moneysmart (ASIC) — Probate (glossary)
• Supreme Court of NSW — Wills and probate
• Legal Aid NSW — Family provision claims (12-month time limit)
• Succession Act 2006 (NSW) — Chapter 3, family provision