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Duties of an Executor or Estate Administrator

1. Register the Death: Obtain copies of the Death Certificate, institutions that will require a certificate include Banks, Insurance Companies, and other organisations that hold any assets or funds that may need to be released, for example shares and other equities
   
   
2. Obtain the Will: An executor should know of the whereabouts of the Original Will and should retrieve it in order to begin to carry out the deceased's wishes
   
   
3. Arrange the Funeral: Ensuring funeral wishes are carried out. An executor should make enquiries as to the existence of any prepaid funeral plan, and should one be in force make the appropriate arrangements
   
   
4. Arrange to open a Personal Representative's Bank Account: This is for use with any money due to the estate or any loan arranged to pay inheritance tax and or probate fees
   
   
5. Inform all Relevant Persons: Banks, Building Societies, Insurance Companies, Employers, Local Authorities, Benefits Agency, Tax Authorities, DVLA, Passport Office, Private Health Schemes, Utility Companies, Mobile phone provider etc
   
   
6. Arrange a Valuation of the Estate: this could include the house, all of its contents, investments, stocks and shares, life policies and all other personal goods. A detailed schedule of all the deceased's assets should be drawn up
   
   
   
   
7. Draw up a Schedule of Debts: that must be paid by the estate. This could include; Mortgages, Loans, Credit Cards, Hire Purchase Agreements, Household Bills, Taxes, and Overdrafts
   
   
8. Complete the Required Paperwork: Forms required by the Inland Revenue to determine whether any inheritance tax is due, and the probate forms which need to be taken or sent to the probate office together with the original will and death certificate
   
   
9. Swear the Papers: Provided the case is straightforward an appointment will be made with the Probate Office within 5 to 6 weeks of submitting the documents
   
   
10. Deal with Inheritance Tax: If Inheritance Tax is due, the executors' account of the estate is passed to the Capital Taxes Office, probate cannot be issued until the tax is paid
    
    
11. Distribute the copies of the Grant of Probate: The executors now have legal authority over the estate and should distribute copies of the grant to persons who owe the estate money
    
    
12. Distribute the Estate: When the Grant of Probate is received the estate can be divided according to the instructions left in the deceased's Will. The executor should keep accounts showing exactly what they have done and these should prove that the executor has acted in accordance with the wishes expressed in the Will
    
    
13. Safeguards: Publish the relevant Section 27 Notices. Even in situations where it is highly unlikely that a claim against the estate will be made, it is inadvisable to ignore the statutory safeguards that are available to protect the executors from personal liability
    
    
14. Store the Records: All paperwork, including the grant of probate should be stored securely for the minimum specified period