An executor is the person legally responsible for dealing with everything someone leaves behind when they die: their money, property and possessions, known together as the estate. Where there is a valid will that appoints someone to do this, that person is called the executor in England, Wales and Northern Ireland1. After someone dies, their estate is managed by one or more executors, and the job involves valuing what is in the estate, paying any debts and taxes, and then distributing what is left to the people entitled to it2.
The role is a legal one, not just a practical favour for the family. An executor steps into the shoes of the person who died for the purposes of their affairs, and the decisions they make can have lasting consequences for the people who inherit and for the executor personally. In Scotland the terminology is different: the persons appointed to administer the estate are known as executors regardless of whether there is a valid will1, and a court-appointed executor is called an executor-dative2.
This page explains what an executor actually does, how executors are appointed, what happens when there is no will or no one is willing to act, how the Scottish system works, and where an executor can go wrong and be held personally liable.
What an executor does, from securing the estate to paying out
The executor's job runs from the moment of death until the estate has been fully distributed. In broad terms it falls into three stages: working out what the estate contains and what it is worth, settling what the person who died owed, and then passing what remains to the people entitled to it. The grant of probate or letters of administration makes the executor or administrator legally able to do this: it allows them to value the estate, pay any debts and distribute the estate, according to the will if there is one, or according to the intestacy rules if there is not3.
The first stage is identification and valuation. The executor has to find all the accounts, property, possessions and other assets the person owned, and establish what each is worth at the date of death. This matters because the values feed into the tax position and into the eventual distribution. In Scotland this step has a formal shape: the executor must make a list of all the property and possessions, called an inventory, and then apply for confirmation, which is the Scottish equivalent of probate2. It is also the role of the executor to confirm whether particular policies, such as life policies, form part of the estate or pass outside it5.
The second stage is paying what is owed. Before beneficiaries can inherit anything, any debts owed by the estate normally need to be paid2. That includes funeral costs, household bills, loans and credit cards, and tax. The executor is also the person government bodies deal with: when someone applies for a Funeral Support Payment in Scotland, the person managing the estate of the person who died is known as the executor or administrator6, and the Department for Work and Pensions acts as a creditor where the person who died owed it money, for example through recoverable overpayments, Administrative Penalties or Social Fund loans7.
The third stage is distribution. After the debts and taxes are paid, the executor distributes the estate according to the will, or, where there is no will, according to the intestacy rules3. The executor's job is done when everything has been accounted for and passed on.
How executors are appointed
An executor is usually named in the will. The person making the will chooses who they want to deal with their affairs, and the will takes effect on death. Where there is a valid will which appoints a personal representative, they are called the executor1. A personal representative is the person who has been issued with a grant to administer a deceased person's estate1, so the two terms describe the same role from different angles: the will names the executor, and the grant confirms their authority to act.
The grant itself matters because many banks, building societies and land registries will not release money or transfer property without seeing it. If the estate is worth above a certain amount, the executor or administrator will need special permission, called probate, before they can collect and distribute the assets8. The process for getting that permission in England and Wales is covered in the guide to applying for probate, and the Scottish equivalent, confirmation, is explained in confirmation: dealing with an estate in Scotland.
Where there is no will, a different grant applies. The grant of letters of administration makes the person who holds it the administrator of the estate, and allows them to value the estate, pay any debts and distribute the estate according to the intestacy rules3. An administrator takes over, usually a relative or friend and sometimes a solicitor8. The rules that decide who inherits when there is no will are explained in dying without a will in England and Wales.
Choosing an executor is part of making a will, and it is a decision worth taking seriously: the person named takes on legal duties and personal risks. Over half of UK adults do not have a will, according to research published by the Money and Pensions Service in January 20253, which means many estates fall to be dealt with under the intestacy rules and by court-appointed administrators rather than by someone the person chose. The options for making a will, and what makes one valid, are covered in making a will.
More than one executor: they have to agree
There can be more than one executor, and where there is, they have to agree about how to deal with the estate2. A will can name two or more people to act together, and some people appoint a family member alongside a professional, such as a solicitor, so that the family has a say while someone with experience handles the paperwork.
Acting jointly has practical consequences. Because executors must agree, decisions about selling a property, paying a debt or distributing a particular asset need consensus, and disagreement can delay the estate. It also spreads the work: notifying organisations, valuing assets and dealing with tax returns can be divided up, though each executor remains responsible for the estate as a whole.
The way assets were held affects how much of the estate the executors actually control. Some accounts and holdings can be held in one name or two names jointly, as NS&I states for its Direct Saver account9, and jointly held assets often pass automatically to the surviving owner outside the estate. The executor's job is to establish which assets fall inside the estate they are administering and which pass by other routes, such as survivorship. In Scotland, property owned jointly may pass to the surviving owner under a survivorship destination, which is explained in survivorship destinations on Scottish property.
A will can also name a substitute executor, so that if the first choice has died or is unable or unwilling to act, someone else can step in. This avoids the estate being left without an executor and having to go to court.
When there is no will or no executor
If you die without making a will, the law of intestacy sets out who should inherit your estate10. The estate still needs someone to administer it, but the person who does so is not chosen by the deceased: an administrator takes over, usually a relative or friend and sometimes a solicitor8. Their authority comes from the grant of letters of administration rather than from a will3.
All estates need an executor, and if there is not one, the court will appoint one2. The court will normally appoint someone who has an interest in the estate, in many cases a surviving spouse or civil partner2. This means that even where the person who died left no will, the family is not left without a route forward: the court process creates the legal authority that a will would have provided.
The intestacy rules themselves decide who inherits, and they follow a fixed order of family relationships. In Scotland, if you were married or in a civil partnership and your husband, wife or civil partner dies without leaving a will, you have rights to the home, the contents and part of the remaining estate2. The Scottish rules on prior rights and legal rights are explained in prior rights and legal rights in Scotland.
Separately, some people already hold a legal right to act for the person who died, which continues after death in certain circumstances. A person does not need to apply to become an appointee if they already have the legal right to act for someone, for example under a Power of Attorney, a Guardianship order, a Deputy order in England and Wales, or a Controller order in Northern Ireland11. The position after death is different from the position before it, though: powers of attorney end on death, and the executor or administrator takes over. The transition is covered in what to do when someone dies: a money checklist.
Scotland: executor-dative, the sheriff court and the Bond of Caution
Scotland has its own terminology and its own court process for estates. The persons appointed to administer the estate are known as executors, regardless of whether there is a valid will1. Where the executor is appointed by the court rather than named in a will, they are known as an executor-dative2.
If there is no will, or no executor has been appointed, the sheriff court can appoint one, and it will normally appoint someone who has an interest in the estate, in many cases a surviving spouse or civil partner2. The sheriff court is also the court that handles related orders in Scotland: it can grant intervention orders and guardianship orders12. Enforcement in Scotland runs through sheriff officers rather than bailiffs, and the processes differ from those south of the border: there is a different process in Scotland13, and a sheriff officer is different both to the police and to a bailiff, which does not apply in Scotland14. A debtor can stop further action by contacting the creditor and coming to an arrangement, or by making a payment directly to the sheriff officer towards the debt, and has the right to do this while the sheriff officer is there15.
When the court has to appoint the executor, they might need special insurance to act. This is called a Bond of Caution2. The bond protects the beneficiaries and creditors if the executor-dative fails to do the job properly, and it is explained in detail in Bond of Caution for Scottish executors.
The Scottish process then follows a set sequence. The executor must make a list of all the property and possessions, called an inventory, and then apply for confirmation2. Debts are normally paid before anyone inherits2, and executors must normally wait at least 6 months from the date of death before distributing the estate2.
Some financial support after a death is itself organised on a Scottish basis. Responsibility for funeral payments, together with all other elements of the regulated Social Fund, was devolved to the Scottish Parliament by the Scotland Act 201616, and Scotland now has its own Funeral Support Payment, covered in Funeral Support Payment in Scotland. Enforcement of financial penalties also runs through the Scottish system: in Scotland, a penalty may be enforced in the same manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff court17.
Using a professional executor such as a solicitor or accountant
Not every executor is a family member. A will can name a professional, such as a solicitor or an accountant, as executor, and where there is no will an administrator, who may be a solicitor, can take over the estate8. Professionals bring experience of the process, the tax rules and the court paperwork, which matters most where the estate is large, where there are complicated assets, or where the family situation is difficult.
The trade-off is cost: professional executors charge for their work, and those charges come out of the estate before the beneficiaries are paid. The options and typical charging structures are set out in paying a professional to deal with an estate.
The alternative is the lay executor acting alone, and that carries a risk worth weighing when the decision is made. An executor acting alone without legal help on a large estate faces the warning that if they make a mistake and miss out some details about the property, money and belongings owned by the person who died, they could be held liable and have to pay a financial penalty2. A middle route is common: a family member acts as executor but instructs a solicitor for particular steps, such as applying for confirmation or dealing with Inheritance Tax.
Where the court appoints an executor in Scotland, the professional route can be effectively built in, because the executor-dative may need a Bond of Caution before they can act2. That insurance requirement is itself a reason some court-appointed executors use a professional firm, since the bond has to be obtained and paid for.
Dealing with the deceased person's tax affairs
Tax is one of the areas where the executor's role is most concrete, because the executor is the person HM Revenue and Customs deals with after a death. The personal representative, an executor or administrator, for the estate usually pays any Inheritance Tax due before giving the beneficiaries their inheritance4. The practical steps for working out and paying the tax are covered in when and how to pay Inheritance Tax on an estate.
The executor also has to tell HMRC who is dealing with the estate. If you cannot call the helpline, you must fill in form P1000 to tell HMRC who is dealing with the money, property and possessions of the person who died18. The Tell Us Once service, which reports a death to multiple government departments at once, is explained in Tell Us Once: reporting a death to government.
Some estates need specialist tax forms. An executor, or an executor who is also a trustee, fills in form IHT418 to tell HMRC about a qualifying interest in possession that has ended because someone has died19. Interests in possession usually arise where the will set up a trust, so this is most relevant where the person who died was a beneficiary under someone else's will trust.
A significant change is coming for pensions. From 6 April 2027, personal representatives will be liable to report and pay any Inheritance Tax due on unused pension funds or death benefits20. This extends the executor's responsibilities into assets that have historically passed outside the estate, and executors dealing with deaths from that date will need to establish what pension funds remain and whether they are caught by the new rules.
The executor's own position can also be affected in unexpected ways by acting in the role. Where an individual owns a dwelling in their capacity as a trustee or personal representative of another, that is, as an executor, they are not deemed to be the owner of that dwelling for the purposes of first-time buyer relief from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland21. In practice this means that holding estate property does not cost an executor their own first-time buyer status for that tax. Income tax and the estate's tax returns are covered in tax after a death.
Paying the estate's debts
Debts do not die with the person: they become debts of the estate, and the executor's job is to settle them from the estate's assets. Before beneficiaries can inherit anything, any debts owed by the estate normally need to be paid2. The full picture of what happens to debts is covered in what happens to debts when someone dies.
Where the estate has enough money, this is a matter of process: identify the debts, verify them, and pay them. Where the estate has insufficient funds, the order of payment matters. In that case, the estate has to pay off any unpaid debts in a set order before anything is given to people named in the will, or until the money runs out8. If there is not enough money in the estate to pay all debts, the estate may be insolvent, and creditors must be paid in a legal order of priority; executors should get legal advice before making payments2.
Some debts have particular features. If the person who died had council tax arrears, the local council can write off this debt, but there is no guarantee that it will do so2. Funeral costs can also come back to the estate: a Funeral Expenses Payment might have to be repaid, in whole or in part, from the deceased person's estate22, and in Scotland funeral costs can be recovered from a person's estate5. The Department for Work and Pensions is itself a creditor where the person who died owed it money, and a claim is normally made from the estate for debts such as recoverable overpayments, Administrative Penalties and Social Fund loans7.
Bankruptcy adds a further layer. If you pass away while you are bankrupt, the process will continue, and your estate will be used to pay trustee fees and outlays23. Where the person who died was subject to a debt arrangement scheme in Scotland, a moratorium on diligence restricts creditors: they may not serve a charge for payment, commence or execute any diligence to enforce any debt owed by the client, or petition for sequestration24.
The deceased's consumer protections can also shape what the estate owes. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, an improperly-executed regulated agreement is enforceable against the debtor or hirer on an order of the court only25, and guidance under the FCA's consumer credit rules states that failure to comply with the disclosure regulations has the effect that agreements are enforceable against a borrower or hirer only with an order of court26. Under Section 75 of the same Act, the creditor under a debtor-creditor-supplier agreement is jointly and severally liable with the supplier for claims for misrepresentation or breach of contract27, which can mean a claim connected to something the person who died bought is directed at the card provider rather than the estate. Payment services rules also allocate responsibility: where the unique identifier provided by the user is incorrect, the payment service provider is not liable for non-execution or defective execution but must make reasonable efforts to recover the funds28, and the payer's payment service provider is liable for the correct execution of a payment transaction unless it can prove the payee's provider received the amount in accordance with the regulations29. Amendments made in 2023 also address the liability of payment service providers where a payment order is executed subsequent to fraud or dishonesty30.
Mistakes can make an executor personally liable
The executor's duties are backed by personal consequences. The clearest warning comes from guidance on Scottish estates: if you make a mistake and miss out some details about the property, money and belongings owned by the person who died, you could be held liable and have to pay a financial penalty2. The risk is greatest for an executor acting alone without legal help on a large estate2.
Liability arises in several ways. The first is inaccuracy: the inventory and valuation must capture everything, and an executor who omits assets, whether by accident or otherwise, faces the penalty above. The second is paying in the wrong order: in an insolvent estate, creditors must be paid in a legal order of priority, and an executor who pays the wrong people first can be pursued by the creditors who should have been paid2. The third is distributing too early: handing money to beneficiaries before debts and taxes are settled means the executor may have to recover it, or make good the shortfall themselves.
Insolvent estates in Scotland have a specific rule about the passage of time. Where the estate is absolutely insolvent, the critical date is the day the executor knew, or ought to have known, of the insolvency, and dealings after 12 months from that point are treated as without title unless a debtor application or a petition for a judicial factor is made. The timeline below shows how that works.
The practical protections are care and record-keeping. Keep a full account of everything received and paid, take advice before acting where the estate is large or insolvent, and do not distribute until the debts, taxes and the waiting period have been dealt with. Where the executor is court-appointed in Scotland, the Bond of Caution provides a layer of protection for the beneficiaries and creditors, though it does not remove the executor's own liability for mistakes2.
What protects the estate and where to get help
An executor is not left to face financial firms alone. Complaints the person who died could have made can generally be continued by their personal representative: the Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints brought on behalf of someone who has lost capacity or died, including by people holding a power of attorney or acting for the estate12. The Pensions Ombudsman similarly accepts complaints from a personal representative, the person who has been issued with a grant to administer a deceased person's estate1. If the person who died was mis-sold a product or badly treated by a bank, insurer or pension provider, the executor can take the complaint forward.
The estate's debts are also subject to rules that protect the people involved. Under the Debt Respite Scheme, a creditor or agent takes enforcement action if they take any of a defined list of steps in relation to a moratorium debt, including collecting the debt, enforcing a judgment, obtaining a warrant, starting legal proceedings, or contacting the debtor for enforcement32, and during a debt relief order moratorium the creditor has no remedy in respect of the debt and may not commence proceedings except with the permission of the High Court33. These protections apply to the person's debts, and the executor dealing with the estate needs to know where the person stood under them before distributing anything.
Free help is available at every stage. Citizens Advice publishes guidance on dealing with an estate after a death in Scotland2, and nidirect covers debts when someone dies in Northern Ireland8. For the emotional and practical aftermath, free bereavement support and helplines lists where to turn. Related guides on this site cover applying for probate in England and Wales, probate and estates in Northern Ireland, valuing an estate after a death, and receiving an inheritance.
Sources33 cited
- Complaining to TPO on behalf of a deceased's estate Pensions Ombudsman, January 2021
- After a death: dealing with an estate in Scotland Citizens Advice Scotland, 2026
- Over half of UK adults don't have a will Money and Pensions Service, 27 January 2025
- Tax on property, money and shares you inherit GOV.UK, 2026
- Recovery of funeral costs from a person's estate Social Security Scotland, 2026
- Funeral Support Payment: telephone application Social Security Scotland, 2026
- Death and Bereavement Guidance Department for Work and Pensions, 2025
- Debt when someone dies nidirect, 26 June 2026
- NS&I Direct Saver brochure NS&I, 1 July 2024
- Dementia and managing money nidirect, 3 September 2026
- Supporting clients moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK Social Security Scotland, 27 January 2026
- Complaints about power of attorney Financial Ombudsman Service, 2026
- Your rights if a bailiff visits GOV.UK, 2026
- Sheriff officer powers and rights mygov.scot, 7 November 2023
- Sheriff officers: taking things you own mygov.scot, 7 November 2023
- Devolution of Social Fund funeral payments House of Commons Library, 8 July 2026
- Enforcement of penalties in Scotland legislation.gov.uk, 2025
- Report a death without using Tell Us Once GOV.UK, 28 September 2026
- Tell HMRC that Inheritance Tax is due on a gift or trust (IHT100) GOV.UK, 12 August 2024
- Reforming Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits GOV.UK, 2027
- First-time buyer relief for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Revenue Scotland, 19 November 2025
- Financial help for bereaved people nidirect, 3 April 2026
- Bankruptcy information document Accountant in Bankruptcy, 2026
- Moratorium on diligence under the Debt Arrangement Scheme Accountant in Bankruptcy, 5 August 2024
- Consumer Credit Act 1974 legislation.gov.uk, 1974
- FCA Handbook CONC 4 Financial Conduct Authority, 2026
- Consumer Credit Act 1974, Part VI legislation.gov.uk, 1974
- Payment Services Regulations 2017, Part 7 legislation.gov.uk, 2017
- Payment Services Regulations 2017, Part 7 (detail) legislation.gov.uk, 2017
- Payment Services Regulations amendment 2023 legislation.gov.uk, 29 August 2023
- Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 legislation.gov.uk, 2016-04-28
- Debt respite breathing space scheme: creditors' responsibilities legislation.gov.uk, 2020
- Debt relief order moratorium provisions Northern Ireland Assembly, 2014
MoneyHelperFree, impartial money and pensions guidance, set up by government
Citizens AdviceFree advice on money, consumer and legal problems in England and Wales
Turn2usFree benefits calculator and grants search from a charity
GOV.UKOfficial information on tax, benefits and government services