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A guide for lay executors

Welcome to our consumer guide to help you navigate the probate process if you’ve been named as an executor in a will. This guide will help you answer some common questions about your responsibilities and the probate process.

Frequently asked questions

  • 1. What are an executor’s duties?

    Being an executor is a position of trust and responsibility. An executor is legally responsible for the money, property, and possessions of the deceased (estate) and to carry out the wishes of the deceased as set out in the will. An executor’s duties include:


    An executor is accountable to the beneficiaries and can be held personally liable for any financial losses that result from their mistakes. Use the checklist at the end of this guide for more information about the tasks you will need to carry out as executor and in what order.

  • 2. How do I know if I am an executor?
    If the deceased made a will, the executor(s) will usually be named in it along with any beneficiaries. Up to four executors can be named in a will. This could include professional executors, such as an accountant or solicitor, and/or lay executors who are friends or family members of the deceased.

    Sometimes, seeing the will may be the first time you discover you have been appointed as an executor. If more than one executor is appointed, they must make decisions about the estate jointly, unless they formally agree otherwise.
  • 3. What if there is no will?
    If you can’t find a will, the rules of intestacy will apply and normally the closest living relative, such as a spouse, children or parents of the deceased will need to apply to the Probate Court for a grant of administration. They will then become the appointed Administrator of the estate.

    Use this government tool to find out who might be entitled to a share of someone’s money, property and possessions if they die without making a will. You can also contact an accredited probate practitioner for advice. You can find an ICAEW probate practitioner through the ICAEW probate register.
  • 4. Do I have to accept my appointment as an executor?

    Just because you have been named in a will as an executor does not mean you have to act or apply for probate yourself. If you don’t wish to accept the appointment, you have two options: 

    • renounce your role and give up your right to be an executor entirely; or
    • reserve power to step back from the role now but take it up again later if you wish.

    If you decide to renounce your role, this should be done as soon as possible, and you should avoid becoming involved in the estate administration. To renounce your role as executor you need to complete a form and send it to the Probate Registry. This will not affect any entitlement you may have to money or assets under the will if you are also a beneficiary of the estate.

    If there is more than one executor, one of the other named executors can carry out the duty. If you are the only named executor, you can appoint someone else to apply for probate. This could be another beneficiary or a professional, such as any accredited probate practitioner. However, professional providers will charge fees for their services. There is more information about renunciation on the UK Government website.

  • 5. What is probate?
    Probate is the legal process of administering and distributing a person’s assets, such as their property, money, and possessions after their death. It is often referred to more generally as estate administration. In most cases, you must not distribute any assets until you have the grant of probate or letters of administration.

    When you apply for the grant of probate, you obtain the legal authority to deal with an estate. Once probate is granted you can start to deal with the financial aspects of the estate.

    You can usually apply to the Probate Registry online for the grant of probate, but they will ask for some original documents such as the will to be sent through the post. You can find further information about applying for probate on the UK Government website.
  • 6. Do I need to apply for probate?

    Not necessarily. You may not need to apply for probate if:

    • all shares and money in bank accounts are owned jointly by another living person;
    • land or property is owned as ‘joint tenants’ which passes to the surviving owner;
      or
    • the estate only holds savings and / or personal belongings.

    Many banks, building societies and insurance companies will release funds from accounts without a grant of probate up to a certain threshold at their discretion. This can be between £5,000 and £20,000 depending on the bank.

    However, for any property to be sold, probate is required so that the executor or administrator can legally sign the deeds.

    Generally, an estate worth more than £10,000, or including property, requires probate unless the circumstances listed above apply.

  • 7. Do I need to instruct a professional to help with the estate?
    If you are an executor, you can decide to carry some or all of the aspects of the estate administration yourself, including applying for the grant of probate, or you can ask a probate practitioner for help. You do not need to use the same firm who drew up the will.

    If the estate is complex or you would prefer to get some professional advice, an ICAEW accredited probate practitioner or a probate lawyer can help you deal with the estate. Accountants can be a good choice if you need help with the financial aspects of an estate. If probate isn’t required any financial or legal adviser can assist with the estate administration. Many ICAEW firms also offer estate administration as one of their services.

    Some co-executors choose to conduct some tasks themselves and delegate others such as preparing estate accounts and tax returns to a probate practitioner. This could mean you save money compared to paying a professional to do all the probate and estate administration work. Speak to your probate practitioner to see if they offer a flexible fee.

    The Legal Choices website provides some general advice about carrying out some legal work yourself known as ’DIY’ as well as the benefits of choosing a regulated lawyer. You can also read about the benefits of choosing an accountant.
  • 8. What can I expect from a probate practitioner?
    Regulated probate practitioners should provide you with an engagement or client care letter setting out their terms, fees and complaints procedure. They should keep you regularly informed about progress and costs. Read our information for consumers to find out more: Probate consumer hub

    ICAEW practitioners can only act in non-contentious probate matters. In the event of a dispute, a specialist probate lawyer must take over the process. Find an ICAEW probate practitioner who can help you with probate and the administration of an estate using our probate register. You can also use the search function on the Legal Choices website to find a probate legal professional.
  • 9. Can costs and fees be reimbursed from the estate?
    Lay executors and administrators can claim any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses from the estate for example, funeral costs and probate application fees. If there aren’t enough assets to cover these expenses, bills, and other liabilities, you should seek advice about how to manage an insolvent estate.

    Under sections 28 and 29 of the Trustee Act 2000 a professional executor can charge you for their time administering the estate and any fees and disbursements. If they are a regulated probate practitioner, they must be transparent about their fees and publish this information on their website.

    There may be a charging clause in the will which authorises the lay executor to charge for their time spent performing their duties. However, usually the will only makes provision for a professional executor to charge fees.
  • 10. Do I need to keep the beneficiaries informed?
    It is not a legal requirement to provide information to beneficiaries. However, it is important to be transparent. Probate can sometimes take a long time and you remain accountable to the residuary beneficiaries. Keeping them informed about progress can prevent complaints and help to maintain good relationships.

    You can decide on the frequency of communication, but it is important to make sure beneficiaries are aware of any significant decisions that may affect their inheritance.

    If a professional executor in an accountancy or law firm has been appointed, they will communicate any information and updates to you, which you can pass on to the beneficiaries.
  • 11. What if there isn’t enough money in the estate?

    You must pay any debts first before sharing any assets or gifts in accordance with the will. After all debts have been settled, anything left can then be shared with the beneficiaries. You may have to pay any remaining unpaid debts if you distribute the estate before the debts have all been paid. There is a strict order of distribution which sets out the priority for this.


    1. Pecuniary legacies, such as a specific gift or sum of money, is paid first.

    2. Residuary beneficiaries receive a share of whatever remains from the estate.


    If there is not enough money in the estate to cover pecuniary legacies, their legacies may have to be reduced in equal amounts.

    If it is an insolvent estate and there is not enough money to cover debts and taxes, debts must be paid back in order of priority. In both cases, this may mean that there is nothing left for any beneficiaries.

Checklist for executors

As well as administering the estate, executors and administrators often carry out many of the jobs needed to finalise the affairs of someone who has died. Use this checklist to understand more about these important tasks and the order they are usually carried out.
  • 1. Register the death
    Register the death, in the district the person died in. This must be within five days in England, Wales or Northern Ireland or within eight days in Scotland. If the cause of death still needs to be determined, the Registrar will issue an interim death certificate. Visit the UK Government website for a local registry office on: Find a register office
  • 2. Find a copy of the will

    Many people will create a will with the help of a professional adviser who will store it securely on their behalf. Some people prefer to store it at home in a safe place or with a bank.

    However, sometimes finding the will is not that straightforward, or you may not even be sure that there is one. If you need to find a will, you could try the following steps.

    • If you have consent, check any personal documents the deceased kept at home.
    • Check with the deceased’s solicitors, accountants, or bank.
    • Consult close family members and friends as they may have witnessed the will.
    • Check the national wills register
  • 3. Arrange the funeral
    Once you have a death certificate, you can arrange the funeral. If there is sufficient money in the deceased’s bank account, banks will usually release funds to pay for the funeral costs. The deceased may have paperwork that shows they had a pre-paid funeral plan in place to pay towards some funeral expenses. All pre-paid funeral plans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Otherwise, you may be able to recover the costs from the estate afterwards.
  • 4. Send a death certificate to appropriate organisations
    Report the death to any of the deceased’s utility companies, and landlords. You can inform relevant government organisations, such as HMRC or the DWP using the UK Government's ‘Tell us Once’ online tool.

    The Death Notification Service is another free service which allows you to notify several named banks and financial institutions about a death, at the same time. You will need to complete validation checks and send a copy of the death certificate. If the deceased had a life insurance policy, contact the insurer to see whether you can make a claim.
  • 5. Find out financial information to value the estate
    Contact any financial organisations, such as banks and pension providers to find out what financial assets the deceased had. Banks have their own policies about whether to share information but usually require a death certificate, original will and proof of identity.
  • 6. Work out inheritance tax

    You must estimate the value of the estate to find out if you need to pay inheritance tax (IHT). This includes all the deceased’s properties, cars, shares, foreign assets, and personal items such as furniture and jewellery.

    You may also need to collect information on any gifts made by the deceased seven years prior to death, to determine whether they will be subject to IHT or are covered by an exemption or allowance. You can find further advice on how to calculate this on the UK Government website. 

    To estimate the value of assets, you can check online marketplaces, auctions, and property websites but a professional valuation may be necessary for some high-value items such as a privately owned business. You can find information about tax and benefits on HMRC’s website at: hmrc.gov.uk

    There is normally no inheritance tax to pay if the value of the estate is estimated to be below £325,000, or everything above £325,000 has been left to a spouse, civil partner, charity or community amateur sports club. You can use the government’s online inheritance tax checker to work this out.

  • 7. Apply for grant of probate
    You may need to apply to the Probate Registry for a grant of probate to obtain authority to deal with the estate. You will need to gather any important documents such as the will, death certificate and financial statements. You can apply for probate online or by post once you have valued the estate. There is normally a fee for this.
  • 8. Gathering assets and paying any debts
    Once probate is granted, you can start to deal with the financial aspects of the estate for example, selling a property or shares and paying any outstanding debts, bills and taxes. You can open a special Executor Account at the bank to hold the proceeds of any assets on behalf of the estate.

    If you are not sure who any potential creditors are, you can place a deceased estates notice in The Gazette. This provides notice to creditors that they have two months and a day to make a claim. While it is not compulsory, it can provide peace of mind because you may be personally liable for a debt if a creditor comes forward later.
  • 9. Preparing estate accounts and settling income tax and capital gains tax
    You have a statutory duty to keep accurate accounts throughout the administration of the estate and produce a final Estate Account. This sets out what money has come in and out of the estate, including any assets, debts, expenses, and the final amount to be distributed to the beneficiaries.
  • 10. Distributing the estate
    Once the debts have been paid, the last step is sharing out the estate in accordance with the instructions in the will. There is a strict order of distribution which sets out the priority for this. Any specific gifts, such as a watch or specific sums of money are shared out first. Residuary beneficiaries receive whatever remains from the estate.

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ICAEW will not be liable for any reliance you place on the information in this material. You should seek independent advice. This guidance is intended solely to educate readers on this area of practice. It is not intended to be definitive or comprehensive guidance and should not be interpreted as providing advice, nor does it take the place of independent and professional advice on any matter relating to individual circumstances.