If you’ve just been named executor, here’s the reassuring part: nobody expects you to know all of this on day one, and very little has to happen in the first week. What does have to happen is in the right order, because nearly every bank, agency, and title office will ask for the same two things before they talk to you: a certified death certificate and proof that you have legal authority to act for the estate.
This checklist is organized by phase, roughly in the order an executor works through it. Not every estate needs every step; a modest estate with a house held in a trust and a few payable-on-death accounts may skip probate entirely.
Phase 1: The First Two Weeks
Your only jobs right now are to secure things, find the paperwork, and order death certificates.
- ☐ Order certified copies of the death certificate (usually through the funeral home; processing times vary by state)
- ☐ Locate the original will and any codicils (amendments)
- ☐ Check for a living trust, and find the trust document if one exists
- ☐ Secure the home, vehicles, and valuables; keep insurance in force
- ☐ Forward the person’s mail to yourself with a USPS change of address
- ☐ Notify Social Security (the funeral home often does this)
- ☐ Notify the employer, pension administrator, and any life insurers
- ☐ Make a list of known accounts, debts, and recurring bills
How many death certificates to order
More than you think. Banks, brokerages, life insurers, pension plans, the DMV, and the county recorder may each want a certified copy, and some keep it. Ten is a common number for an estate with several financial accounts. Our guide on how many death certificates you need breaks it down by asset type, and if you need to order more later, here are the death certificate documents the vital records office will ask for. Not every relative can order one; states limit it to people with a direct interest, explained in who can request a death certificate.
Social Security: two details people miss
Any Social Security payment for the month of death has to be returned, even if it lands after the funeral. And a surviving spouse or eligible child may be owed a one-time $255 death payment plus ongoing survivor benefits.
A power of attorney stops working now
If you were the person’s agent under a financial power of attorney, that authority ended at death. You can’t keep using it to sign checks or move money, even with good intentions. From here on, your authority comes from the court or the will, not the POA. (Our power of attorney document guide explains how those documents work during life.)
Phase 2: Getting Legal Authority (Weeks 2 to 8)
This is the step that unlocks everything else. How you get there depends on what the person owned and how it was titled.
Do you even need probate?
Many assets pass outside probate automatically:
| Asset | Passes outside probate? | What the recipient usually needs |
| Joint account with right of survivorship | Yes | Death certificate |
| Payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) account | Yes | Death certificate and beneficiary’s ID |
| Life insurance with a named beneficiary | Yes | Claim form and death certificate |
| 401(k) or IRA with a named beneficiary | Yes | Plan’s claim form and death certificate |
| Property held in a living trust | Yes | Trust document and death certificate; successor trustee acts |
| Real estate with a transfer-on-death deed (where allowed) | Yes | Death certificate and an affidavit, recorded with the county |
| Anything in the person’s sole name with no beneficiary | No | Court authority or a small estate procedure |
If everything falls into the top rows, you may not need court at all. If something sits in the person’s sole name, you’ll need one of the two routes below.
Route A: Small estate procedure
Most states have a shortcut for estates under a dollar limit. Typically you sign a sworn affidavit, attach the death certificate, and present it directly to the bank or other asset holder. A few states route it through the court instead. Limits as of late 2026:
| State | Small estate limit | Notes |
| California | $208,850 in personal property | For deaths on or after April 1, 2025; 40-day wait after death |
| Texas | $75,000, not counting the homestead and exempt property | Only when there’s no will; a judge must approve; 30-day wait |
| Florida | $150,000 for summary administration | Raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026; a court process, not a bank affidavit |
| New York | $50,000 in personal property | “Voluntary administration” through Surrogate’s Court; can’t be used for real estate |
Bank-specific forms and what tellers want to see are covered in our guide to using a small estate affidavit for a bank account.
Route B: Probate
For larger estates, or when real estate is in the person’s sole name, you’ll petition the probate court in the county where the person lived. Expect to file:
- The original will (courts want the original, not a copy)
- A certified death certificate
- The probate petition, on your state’s form
- A list of heirs and beneficiaries with addresses
- An oath of executor, and a bond if the will doesn’t waive it or the court requires one
If the court approves, you receive letters testamentary (when there’s a will) or letters of administration (when there isn’t). This short court document is what banks, brokers, and title companies will ask for. Order several certified copies; they’re often dated, and some institutions want one issued within the last 60 days. See how banks handle letters testamentary, and if a will exists, our walkthrough of probate with a will covers the hearing and notice rules.
Phase 3: Taking Control of the Estate (Months 1 to 6)
Once you have authority, the estate becomes its own legal entity for tax and banking purposes.
- ☐ Get an EIN for the estate from the IRS
- ☐ File IRS Form 56 to notify the IRS that you’re acting as fiduciary
- ☐ Open an estate checking account in the estate’s name and EIN
- ☐ Move the person’s sole-name cash into the estate account
- ☐ Close or retitle the person’s individual bank accounts
- ☐ Publish or mail notice to creditors as your state requires
- ☐ Inventory and appraise assets as of the date of death
- ☐ File the inventory with the court, if your state requires it
The estate EIN and bank account
You can’t use the deceased person’s Social Security number to run the estate. The estate needs its own employer identification number, which you can apply for online at no cost; the information you’ll need mirrors what’s in our EIN application documents guide. Banks will want the EIN, your letters, the death certificate, and your own photo ID to open the estate account. Our page on how to close a deceased person’s bank account covers what happens to their existing accounts.
Keep every dollar that belongs to the estate in that account. Paying estate bills from your personal account, or depositing estate money into it, is the fastest way for an executor to get into trouble with beneficiaries or the court.
Creditors
Executors give formal notice to creditors, usually by publishing a newspaper notice and mailing known creditors. Then a claims window opens. It’s three months after first publication in Florida and four months after letters are issued in California, for example. Valid debts get paid from estate assets in the order state law sets. Family members aren’t personally liable for the deceased person’s debts unless they co-signed or were joint account holders.
Specific assets that need their own paperwork
- Vehicles: the DMV wants the title, the death certificate, and your letters or a state transfer affidavit. See transferring a car title after a parent dies.
- Real estate: selling or transferring a house usually means a new deed signed by you as executor. If you’re selling, here’s the full set of documents to sell a house.
- Retirement accounts: beneficiaries deal directly with the plan; the estate only gets involved if no beneficiary was named. Inherited-account options are covered in our 401(k) rollover paperwork guide.
Phase 4: The Tax Returns
There can be three separate tax filings.
| Return | Covers | Due date | Who has to file |
| Final Form 1040 | The person’s income from Jan. 1 to the date of death | April 15 of the following year | Required if they had enough income to file; often worth filing anyway for a refund |
| Form 1041 (estate income tax return) | Income the estate earns after death, like interest, dividends, or rent | 15th day of the 4th month after the estate’s tax year ends | Required if the estate has $600 or more of gross income in a year |
| Form 706 (federal estate tax return) | The value of everything the person owned at death | 9 months after death; 6-month extension available | Required only if the estate exceeds $15 million (2026 deaths), but often filed to pass unused exemption to a surviving spouse |
The final tax return for a deceased person trips up a lot of families. If a refund is due, you may also need Form 1310 to claim it; our guide on the Form 1310 for a deceased taxpayer’s refund explains when. The full list of records to pull together is in our deceased person tax return documents page.
Don’t skip Form 706 for a married couple
Very few estates owe federal estate tax at a $15 million exemption. But when a married person dies, filing Form 706 lets the surviving spouse keep the unused part of that exemption, a move called portability. If the estate wasn’t otherwise required to file, IRS Revenue Procedure 2022-32 allows a simplified late portability election up to five years after the date of death. After that, the unused exemption is generally lost. Also check your state: a dozen or so states and D.C. have their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower thresholds.
Phase 5: Distributing and Closing
- ☐ Pay final bills, taxes, and approved creditor claims
- ☐ Prepare an accounting of everything that came in and went out
- ☐ Get signed receipts and releases from beneficiaries
- ☐ Distribute assets according to the will or state law
- ☐ File a closing petition or final account with the court, if required
- ☐ File the estate’s final Form 1041 (mark it “final”)
- ☐ Close the estate bank account
Hold back a reserve before the final distribution. Last-minute tax bills, a late creditor claim, or a final utility statement can show up after you thought everything was done.
What Executors Ask Most
- How long does settling an estate take? A simple estate with no probate can wrap up in a few months. A probate estate typically takes 9 to 18 months, longer if a house must be sold, the will is contested, or an estate tax return is required.
- Can I be paid as executor? Usually, yes. State law or the will sets the fee. Many family executors waive it, partly because executor fees count as taxable income while an inheritance generally doesn’t.
- Do I need a lawyer? Not always. Small estates and simple probates are often handled by family members using court self-help forms. A lawyer is worth it for disputes, business interests, real estate in multiple states, or estates large enough to involve estate tax.
- What if there’s no will? The court appoints an administrator, usually a close relative, and state “intestacy” law decides who inherits. The paperwork is similar; you’ll receive letters of administration instead of letters testamentary.
- The person owned a business. What then? Depending on the operating agreement, it may pass to heirs or need to be wound down, with its own LLC final tax return and state dissolution filings.
Small estate limits get adjusted every few years, so confirm your state’s current figure with the probate court clerk before you sign an affidavit.