What an executor does
An executor (called a personal representative in many states, or an administrator when there's no will) is the person who winds up a dead person's affairs: collecting the assets, paying the debts and taxes, and distributing what's left. It's a fiduciary role, which means you have legal duties to the heirs and creditors:
- Loyalty: act in the estate's interest, not your own. No selling yourself the house cheaply, no paying yourself without the required approval.
- Prudence: manage the property with the care of a prudent person handling someone else's money. No speculative investments.
- Separation: keep estate money in a separate estate account, never in your personal account.
- Records: keep a record of every dollar in and out. The court and the heirs are entitled to an accounting.
California's mandatory court form for new executors puts it bluntly: breaking these rules can get you removed and make you personally reimburse the estate. Executors are usually entitled to a fee. In California, New York and Florida it's set or presumed by statute; see how much probate costs.
The executor's checklist, step by step
1. The first weeks
- Get several certified copies of the death certificate.
- Find the will and any trust documents. If the house or accounts are in a living trust or pass by TOD deed or beneficiary designation, they're outside probate.
- Make sure Social Security knows. The funeral home usually reports the death. No benefit is due for the month of death, so a payment that arrives the next month has to be returned. A one-time $255 death payment may go to a surviving spouse or child.
- Secure the house (see below) and any cars and valuables.
2. Get appointed
You have no legal authority until a court appoints you and issues letters testamentary (or letters of administration). In California that starts with a petition for probate, a filing fee typically around $435, and published notice of the hearing. In New York, a named executor can't dispose of estate property before letters issue, except to pay reasonable funeral costs and protect the estate.
If the estate is small, you may be able to skip most of this. See small estate affidavits by state.
3. Set up with the IRS and the bank
- File Form 56 to tell the IRS you're acting as fiduciary.
- Get an EIN for the estate. Applying online gives you the number immediately.
- Open an estate bank account in the estate's name with the EIN and your letters. All income goes in; all bills are paid from it.
4. Notify creditors, and watch the deadlines
| State | Notice to creditors | Creditor deadline | Inventory due |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Mail notice to known creditors within 4 months of appointment; notify the state within 90 days if the person received Medi-Cal | 4 months after letters (or 60 days after notice); claims generally barred 1 year after death | Within 4 months of letters |
| Texas | Publish notice within 1 month of letters; notify known secured creditors within 2 months | 120 days for an unsecured creditor who receives notice | Within 90 days of qualifying |
| Florida | Publish once a week for 2 weeks and serve known creditors | 3 months after first publication (or 30 days after service); absolute bar 2 years after death | Within 60 days of letters |
Texas courts can fine an executor up to $1,000 for a late inventory. In Florida, the protected homestead is listed separately on the inventory.
5. Inventory and value everything
List every asset at its value on the date of death. In California a court-appointed probate referee values non-cash assets like the house. These values matter later: they set the heirs' stepped-up basis for capital gains. See capital gains tax rates.
6. Pay debts in the legal order
State law sets the order: usually administration costs and funeral expenses first, then secured debts and taxes, then everything else. Don't pay credit cards before you know about tax debts. Under federal law, an executor who pays other debts first when the estate can't pay everything is personally liable for unpaid federal claims. If the estate may not cover its debts, read insolvent estates: who pays.
7. File the tax returns
- Final Form 1040 for the year of death, due April 15 of the following year.
- Form 1041 for the estate if it has $600 or more of gross income in a year, due on the 15th day of the fourth month after its tax year ends.
- Form 706, the estate tax return, only if the estate is over the filing threshold ($15 million for 2026 deaths), due 9 months after death. A surviving spouse's executor should consider filing anyway to elect portability of the unused exemption. Under Rev. Proc. 2022-32 that can be done up to five years after death. See estate taxes by state for the much lower state thresholds.
- Form 4810 asks the IRS to finish any audit of the income returns within 18 months instead of 3 years, and Form 5495 asks to be discharged from personal liability. Both are worth filing before you distribute everything.
8. Distribute and close
Once debts, taxes and expenses are paid and creditor deadlines have passed, distribute to the heirs as the will (or state law) directs, get receipts, and file a final accounting. In California, probate typically takes 9 to 18 months, sometimes longer.
The house during probate
The house is usually the biggest asset and the most work.
- Keep it insured. Many homeowners policies limit coverage once a home is vacant 30 to 60 days. In New York, the standard fire policy lets insurers deny losses after 60 days unoccupied, and Texas lists a 60-day vacancy as a reason an insurer may not renew. Tell the insurer and ask about a vacancy endorsement. California's court rules require the executor to keep adequate insurance for the whole administration.
- Keep paying the property tax. The tax is a lien on the house that outranks the mortgage and every other creditor, and it keeps running during probate. Change the mailing address with the tax collector so the bills reach you. See what happens if property taxes aren't paid.
- Keep paying the mortgage if you want to keep or sell the house. The lender can't call the loan just because the owner died and the house is passing to a relative.
- Expect the exemptions to change. Homestead and senior exemptions belong to the owner who lived there. In Florida a change of ownership resets the Save Our Homes cap on the next January 1. In California, file a change in ownership statement (BOE-502-D) for each parcel within 150 days of the death, or with the inventory if there's a probate, and claim the Prop 19 parent-child exclusion if it applies. See property taxes on an inherited house.
- Florida protected homestead generally isn't an estate asset available to creditors. The personal representative can take possession of an empty homestead only to preserve and insure it.
Selling the house
- California: with full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, you can sell after giving heirs a Notice of Proposed Action at least 15 days ahead; if nobody objects, there's no court hearing. Without it, the court confirms the sale at a hearing where others can overbid.
- Florida: if the will gives a power of sale, the personal representative can sell without court approval. Otherwise no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms the sale.
- Texas: an independent executor can generally sell estate property without court approval; a dependent administration needs the court's approval.
If an heir wants to keep the house instead, see heirs' property for what happens when it's left in several names without clear title.
Sources
IRS Publication 559, the Form 56, 1041, 4810 and 5495 pages, the estate tax FAQs and Rev. Proc. 2022-32; 31 U.S.C. § 3713; Social Security Administration publications; California Judicial Council form DE-147 (Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative), California Courts self-help pages on formal probate and forms DE-165 and DE-265, and the Board of Equalization's BOE-502-D guidance; Tex. Est. Code §§ 308.051, 308.053, 308.054, 309.051 and 309.056 and the Tarrant County probate court guide; Fla. Stat. §§ 733.2121, 733.607, 733.608, 733.613, 733.702, 733.707, 733.710 and Fla. Prob. R. 5.340; N.Y. SCPA § 2307 and the NY Courts small estate guide; the NY Department of Financial Services and Texas Department of Insurance on vacant homes. This is general information, not legal advice.