Back to the Basics: What Does Being an Executor Actually Involve?
Probate and Estate Administration
You have been named an executor. That means you are the person who carries out the instructions in someone's Will after they die.
Most people say yes without knowing what the job involves. The gaps show up once the work has already started.
An executor who gets it wrong can be made to pay for the loss out of their own money. That risk is real if the person died with debts nobody knew about, worked in a high-risk job and faces a claim, or left behind a former partner, a former de facto partner or an estranged child who might contest the Will.
At Dormer Stanhope we act for executors every week. We apply to the Court for grants, call in the assets and pass them on to the beneficiaries. This article sets out the basics. It covers who an executor is, what the role demands and where people usually stumble.
Who is the executor, and must they act?
A Will names an executor to wind up the estate after the Will-maker dies. That means to collect what the person owned, pay what they owed and hand on the rest. Most people accept the appointment. Someone who does not want the job can renounce it, which means formally giving it up, leaving any other executors to act alone.
If there is no Will, the law lets certain people apply to do the same job. They are called an administrator. It is usually the next of kin, or whoever stands to get the largest share. The job is the same as an executor's. The one difference is that it starts on the day the Court appoints them, not on the day of death.
Do you need a qualification to act?
No. Anyone named as executor can act, with no training and no licence. That is why executors get sued so often. A beneficiary can sue an executor for the loss, or ask the Court to remove them. It usually happens after the executor has tried to do the job alone and made a mistake or taken too long.
If the estate is at all complicated, get help early.
What are the duties of an executor?
Locate the Will. A copy is normally held in the deceased's safe, with their lawyer, their financial adviser or their bank.
Act in the best interests of the beneficiaries.
Protect the estate's assets, including keeping insurance current on anything the estate holds.
Establish the estate's assets and liabilities.
Apply to the Supreme Court for a grant of probate.
Collect the assets, pay the liabilities and distribute the estate under the Will.
Why the grant of probate matters
Most executors find the probate application the hardest step. It calls for set court forms and the paperwork has to be right. The grant itself does one thing. It gives the executor legal authority to deal with the deceased's assets. Think of it as a passport. The executor produces it to banks, share registries and other institutions to prove they hold that authority.
The steps that protect you after probate
Once the Supreme Court grants probate, there is a set order to the rest of the job. Some notices have to be published. One of them is a notice of intended distribution, which tells anyone with a claim to come forward. Then there are waiting periods to sit out. Pay out too early, or ignore a claim, and the executor can be left personally out of pocket. Follow the process and the executor is protected.
Do you need a solicitor?
Not always. Some small estates can be wound up without a grant at all. That is usually where the assets are modest and the bank will release them on a death certificate and a signed declaration. If that is your estate, we will tell you. But if there is a house, a blended family, a business, debts, or anyone unhappy with the Will, doing it alone is riskier than most people expect.
What it costs
The reasonable costs of winding up an estate are usually paid out of the estate, not by the executor. That includes a solicitor's costs of getting the grant. For a first grant those costs are fixed by law and worked out on the value of the estate's assets. The scale is not something we set. The scale covers the grant work only. Other work is charged separately, including sorting estate papers, valuations, tax work, publishing the notice of intended distribution, transferring assets and preparing estate accounts. An executor who acts unreasonably can be ordered to pay costs out of their own pocket.
What to do now
Find the original Will and keep it safe. Do not staple it, unstaple it or write on it.
Order several certified copies of the death certificate.
List the assets and the debts, including superannuation and insurance.
Check that insurance on any house, car or other asset stays current.
Keep every receipt and write down every decision you make.
Do not pay anyone out until you have advice on the waiting periods.
How we can help
The first conversation is free. We act for executors and administrators every week, and we can take as much or as little of the job as you want. That might be the grant application on its own, or the whole job through to the final accounts. If the estate does not need a grant, we will tell you that too.
Call 1800 571 113.
Please call rather than sending the details of the estate through our website. We act for people making claims against estates as well as for executors, so we run a conflict check before we advise.
Disclaimer
This article is general information about the law of New South Wales as at 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create a solicitor and client relationship with Dormer Stanhope. It does not take your circumstances into account, and the law in other States and Territories differs. The law also changes. If you have been named as an executor or are administering an estate, speak to a solicitor about your own position.
