You have been appointed as an executor

§1The appointment, and the two titles

The person the will names is the executor. If there is no will, or the named executor has died or can’t act, the Supreme Court appoints an administrator instead, and the court’s grant is called letters of administration rather than probate. Without a will, nobody can be appointed executor at all.

The will may also make the executor a trustee. That second role runs any trust the will sets up, such as one holding a grandchild’s share until they reach a stated age.

Accepting is a choice. The NSW guide says a named executor has no legal obligation to take the role on, and that anyone stepping back should do so early, before the administration has begun.

§2What the role asks, in order

1. Identify the beneficiaries, carefully. The executor finds the people the will names and tells them what they have been left. Misreading the will, or missing someone, can leave the executor legally responsible.
2. Find, protect and list what the estate holds. That means contacting financial institutions, service providers, government departments and any other relevant companies, searching records (land and property records especially), storing valuables, arranging insurance, and investing spare money once the debts are paid. An executor can be held responsible for damage to property that wasn’t secured or insured, and not everything the person owned forms part of the estate.
3. Tell organisations about the death, so debts stop growing and payments such as pensions stop. The Australian Death Notification Service can send one notice to many organisations.
4. Apply for the grant, usually within 6 months of the death. Once probate or letters of administration is granted, the executor can start selling assets or transferring them to beneficiaries.
5. Pay the debts before anyone is paid out. Every debt and expense the estate owes is accounted for first; any shortfall left after a distribution may fall on the executor.
6. Deal with tax. The executor may need to lodge tax returns for the estate. An executor who is also a beneficiary may need to show what they receive in their own return.
7. Distribute, and account for it. The executor reports to the beneficiaries on everything done in the administration. A beneficiary who believes the will has not been followed, or that the estate has not been accounted for, can go to the court.

§3When the estate may be handed out

Timing is where NSW is most specific. The guide says an executor should not hand out the estate until all of these are true:

• at least 6 months have passed since the date of death, and
• at least 30 days have passed since a Notice of Intended Distribution was published, with the grant already made, and
• all the estate’s debts have been paid.

Family provision claims, the formal way of contesting a will, run on their own clock: a claim has to be filed with the court within 12 months of the death, and only an eligible person, such as a spouse or child, can bring one. If a claim is made, the executor holds back from distributing until the court has dealt with it. Taken together, the guide expects an estate can take up to 12 months to finish, and longer when the assets or the beneficiaries’ circumstances are complicated.

§4Where the risk becomes personal

An executor acts for other people with other people’s money, and the NSW guide is plain that some mistakes are paid for personally. The register below gathers each one it names.

Personal liability for an executor in NSW

Where it happens	What the guide says can follow
Distributing before the debts are paid	The executor may be personally liable for the estate’s debts, including tax owed to the ATO.
Getting the beneficiaries wrong	Misunderstanding the will, or failing to identify every beneficiary, can make the executor legally responsible.
Selling below market value	Beneficiaries could sue the executor to recover what they lost.
Leaving property unsecured or uninsured	The executor can be held responsible for the damage.
Letting the administration drift	The estate has to be started and finished within a reasonable time, and a delay that causes a financial loss can be the executor’s responsibility.
Legal claims for or against the estate	The executor is the one who defends claims against the estate and brings claims on its behalf.

The guide also lists the help available: legal help with the process, grief support, and payment for the time the work takes. Executors who would rather hand the work on can pass it to a professional executor, such as NSW Trustee and Guardian.