Executor
Also called: executrix, personal representative
Updated June 7, 2026
What an executor does
- Locates the will and files it with the probate court.
- Obtains legal authority to act (often called letters testamentary).
- Inventories and safeguards the estate's assets.
- Notifies creditors and pays valid debts and taxes.
- Distributes the remaining assets to the beneficiaries named in the will.
It is a job, not a gift. Many executors retain an estate attorney to guide them through probate, and the estate itself generally pays those costs. An executor who is also a beneficiary is common and entirely proper.
Executor, administrator, personal representative
These words overlap. An executor is named in a will; an administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will (or no named executor can serve). Many states use the neutral term personal representative for either role.
Giving your executor a head start
The kindest thing you can do for the person you name is to make sure they can find what they need. Tell them they have been named, and keep your will and key documents somewhere they can reach when the time comes — so their first act is not a search.
Related terms
- Administrator — An administrator is a person appointed by a probate court to settle an estate when the deceased left no will, or when the will named no executor who can serve. The administrator has the same duties as an executor — gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains — but receives their authority from the court rather than from a will.
- Personal Representative — Personal representative is a neutral legal term used in many states to refer to the person responsible for administering a deceased person's estate — whether they were named in a will (an executor) or appointed by a court without one (an administrator). Using one term for both roles simplifies court paperwork and reflects that the duties are identical.
- Beneficiary — A beneficiary is a person or organization designated to receive an asset or benefit from a will, trust, life insurance policy, retirement account, or other arrangement. Being named a beneficiary gives someone a legal right to receive that specific asset — often outside of probate — when the owner passes.
- Letters Testamentary — Letters testamentary is a document issued by a probate court that officially authorizes the executor named in a will to act on behalf of the estate — to access accounts, transfer property, and conduct the business of settling the estate. Without it, banks and institutions will not cooperate with an executor.
- Probate — Probate is the court-supervised process of proving a will is valid, settling the deceased's debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the people entitled to it. It applies whether or not there is a will, and it is overseen by a probate court in the county where the person lived.
Legatus Vault keeps your wills, trusts, and estate documents in one secure place and releases them — only when the time comes, and only after careful verification — to the people you choose.