What an executor can and can’t do: a plain-English guide

If you were just named, that sentence probably doesn’t answer the question you actually have, which is what you’re allowed to do on Monday. This guide covers when your authority starts, what it lets you do, where it stops, and the few places an executor can become personally responsible.

It is general information, not legal advice. Probate rules, deadlines and the executor’s powers vary by state and sometimes by county. Where something varies, this page says so. If the estate owns real property, a business, or has debts that may exceed its assets, or if family members disagree, talk to an estate attorney early.

First: are you actually the executor yet?

Being named in a will and being appointed are two different things. Until a probate court appoints you, most banks, brokerages and government offices will not act on your instructions.

Named. The will says you are the executor. That makes you the person the court will usually appoint. It does not yet give you authority over the accounts.

Appointed. The court approves the nomination and issues letters testamentary, the document institutions ask to see (Cornell LII). If there was no will, the court appoints an administrator and issues letters of administration instead (Cornell LII). Courts and forms often use personal representative for either role (Cornell LII).

Two things people often assume, and shouldn’t:

• A power of attorney doesn’t carry over. A durable power of attorney generally remains in effect until the death of the person who signed it (Cornell LII). If you held one, your authority under it ended at the death. Anything you do now, you do as executor, once appointed.
• You can say no. A person named as executor is not required to serve. If you decline, the court will usually appoint the alternate named in the will, or someone else under your state’s priority rules (Nolo). Decide before you start acting, because stepping back later is harder.

Before appointment, what you can usually do is limited to keeping things safe: securing the home, finding the will, and making funeral arrangements. Many states also allow smaller estates to use a simplified process that doesn’t require a full appointment. Whether that applies to you is a state-specific question.

What an executor can do

Once appointed, an executor generally has the authority to:

• Secure and protect the property. Change locks if needed, keep insurance on the house and car in force, and make sure nothing is removed before it is counted.
• Find and collect the assets. Bank and brokerage accounts in the person’s sole name, money owed to them, final paychecks and refunds. Accounts with a named beneficiary or a surviving joint owner usually pass outside the estate and are not the executor’s to collect (FINRA).
• Open an estate bank account. The estate is a separate taxpayer with its own tax ID number, an EIN, which the IRS issues (IRS). Estate money goes in and out of this account and nowhere else.
• Notify people who need to know. Beneficiaries, creditors, and government agencies. Social Security usually learns of a death from the funeral home, which reports it (SSA). The credit bureaus will update the person’s file to show the death when an executor sends a death certificate and proof of authority to one of the three (FTC).
• Pay valid debts and expenses from estate funds. Funeral costs, final bills, taxes, and the costs of running the estate.
• Hire help, paid by the estate. Attorneys, accountants, appraisers and property managers.
• Sell property when needed, subject to the will and your state’s rules. Some states and some estates require court approval for a sale; others don’t.
• Distribute what’s left to the beneficiaries named in the will, after debts, taxes and expenses are handled.
• Be paid, if the will or state law allows it. Whether and how much depends on the will and your state. You can also decline payment.

What an executor can’t do

The limits all come from the same place. An executor is a fiduciary: someone legally obliged to act in the best interests of others, here the estate and its beneficiaries, and not their own (Cornell LII; IRS).

In practice an executor generally cannot:

• Act on the accounts before being appointed, beyond protecting property.
• Mix estate money with their own. Not even briefly, not even to cover a bill and pay yourself back.
• Use estate property personally, such as living in the house rent-free or driving the car, without the beneficiaries’ agreement or the court’s.
• Change the will. You carry out what it says, even the parts you disagree with.
• Favor one beneficiary, including yourself if you are also a beneficiary.
• Distribute before debts and taxes are dealt with. This is the mistake most likely to become personal (see below).
• Sell assets to themselves or family at a discount.
• Leave the beneficiaries in the dark. Keeping beneficiaries advised of the estate’s progress is part of the job (Justia). In one YouTube comment with 63 likes, a beneficiary said getting information from their sister, the executor, was “like pulling teeth.” That silence is how disputes start.

When an executor can be personally liable

Most executors who do the job carefully never face personal liability. It generally arises when an executor breaches the fiduciary duty: self-dealing, losing estate money through neglect, or distributing assets out of order.

The clearest federal example is the order of payment. Under the federal priority statute, if an estate can’t pay all its debts, federal claims such as unpaid taxes come first. An executor who pays other debts or distributes to heirs before paying a federal claim they knew about can be personally liable for it, up to the amount paid out (31 U.S.C. § 3713, Cornell LII; IRS).

The practical takeaway: before distributing anything, know whether the estate can cover everything it owes. If you are not sure, ask an estate attorney first.

The executor’s job in four phases

Every estate is different, and the order varies by state. This is the usual shape. For the family’s side of the same months, organized by deadline, see what to do when someone dies.

Keep a record from day one

If there’s one habit that protects an executor, it is the record. An executor on r/inheritance, in a post with 150 upvotes, described losing “a brutal weekend rebuilding a year of activity from a shoebox,” and added that most estate disputes they had seen “weren’t about actual theft, just an executor who couldn’t show where the money went.”

Start two logs the day you begin:

• A money log. Every dollar in and out of the estate account: date, who, amount, what for, and where the receipt is.
• A contact log. Every institution you call: date, who you spoke to, what they asked for, and what happens next.

Finding the accounts in the first place is often the slowest part, especially when statements went to an email nobody can open. Our guide to what happens to accounts when someone dies covers the digital side, and subscriptions after death covers the recurring charges.

When there’s no will

When someone dies without a will, nobody has been named. The court appoints an administrator, usually a close relative in the order your state sets, and issues letters of administration (Cornell LII). The administrator’s duties look much like an executor’s. The difference is that state law, rather than a will, decides who inherits.

If you’re reading this for later

Many people find this page after a death. Some find it before one, because they have just watched someone do this job without a map. Our death binder guide covers what a binder should contain so the person who does it for you starts with a list instead of a drawer.

Common questions

Can an executor sell a house without the beneficiaries agreeing?

Sometimes. It depends on what the will allows and on your state's rules; some sales need court approval or notice to beneficiaries. Ask the estate's attorney before listing a property.

Can an executor also be a beneficiary?

Yes, and it is common. The executor still has to treat every beneficiary fairly, including when their own share is involved.

Does the executor have to pay the estate's debts out of their own pocket?

Generally no. Debts are paid from the estate. An executor can become personally liable in specific situations, such as distributing assets before paying a known federal claim (31 U.S.C. § 3713).

How long does an executor have to settle an estate?

It varies by state and by the estate. Creditor claim periods alone set a minimum in many states, and estates with property sales, tax returns or disputes take longer.

Can I refuse to be executor?

Yes. A named executor is not required to serve, and the court will appoint someone else (Nolo).

General information, not legal or tax advice. Probate rules vary by state. Last reviewed 2026-09-26.