Executor checklist: the first 30 days and the first year

You have just learned you are named executor. Maybe it was your mother's will, or a close friend's. The list of tasks can feel endless, so it helps to know what has to happen this month and what can wait.

This checklist puts the work in order. It uses Washington as the worked example, with the statute behind each deadline. For the whole job explained step by step, see our guide to the executor of an estate.

Before you start: what an executor is, and isn't

An executor is the person a will names to settle an estate. Washington calls the role personal representative (RCW 11.02.005). The job is to settle the estate "as rapidly and as quickly as possible, without sacrifice" to it (RCW 11.48.010).

You are also a fiduciary, which means legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says. That is the reason for the records you will keep.

One relief up front. Serving as executor doesn't make you pay the person's debts from your own money. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says debts are generally paid from the estate (CFPB).

If you aren't sure you want the job at all, read whether an executor can refuse before you file anything.

The first week

Much of the first week is personal, not legal. Our checklist on what to do when someone dies covers the funeral and the first phone calls in detail. As executor, add these:

• Order certified death certificates. Banks, agencies and title companies each want one. In Washington, fees start at $25 per certificate (Washington State Department of Health).
• Find the original will. Check the desk, a safe at home, and the lawyer who drafted it.
• Secure the home. Lock up, collect the keys, and ask the neighbor with the spare key to keep an eye out.
• Look after the living things. The dog needs a place to stay, and the plants need water.
• Keep the mail coming to someone. Mail is how you will find most of the accounts and bills.
• Start a notebook. Write down every call, every account and every dollar in or out.

The first 30 days

This is when the legal work begins.

• Deliver the will to the court. In Washington, an executor holding the will must deliver it to the court within 40 days of learning of the death (RCW 11.20.010).
• Decide whether probate is needed. If everything has a named beneficiary or sits in a trust, there may be little for a court to do. A Washington probate estate of $100,000 or less may be collected by affidavit after 40 days (RCW 11.62.010).
• Talk to a probate lawyer. Many executors hire one, at least to open the case. The estate pays the fee.
• Open probate and get letters testamentary. The superior court admits the will and grants "letters testamentary" (RCW 11.28.010). This is the paper banks ask to see.
• Ask for nonintervention powers. They let you settle the estate without returning to court for each step (RCW 11.68.011).
• Get an EIN for the estate. The IRS says to apply for this tax number as soon as possible. Online, it is generally issued right away (IRS Publication 559).
• File IRS Form 56. It tells the IRS you are acting for the estate, once you have the EIN (IRS Publication 559).
• Open an estate bank account. Keep the estate's money separate from your own, always.
• Notify heirs and beneficiaries. Within 20 days of appointment, send written notice of the probate to each one whose address is reasonably known (RCW 11.28.237).

Months one to four

Now the work turns to finding everything and telling creditors.

• Publish notice to creditors. You may publish it once a week for three weeks in a legal newspaper. You also file it with the court and mail a copy to the state's office of financial recovery (RCW 11.40.020).
• Mail notice to known creditors. The credit card company, the hospital, the utility.
• Notify banks, agencies and companies. USAGov lists the usual ones: Social Security, the motor vehicles office, the IRS, banks and credit bureaus (USAGov).
• Return any Social Security payment for the month of death. Social Security doesn't pay benefits for that month (USAGov).
• Complete the inventory. Within three months of appointment, prepare a sworn list of the estate's property, valued as of the date of death (RCW 11.44.015).
• Keep up the house. Pay the utilities, keep paying the homeowner's insurance, and decide whether to sell.

Most creditors have four months from the first publication to come forward (RCW 11.40.051). That window is why many executors publish early.

Months four to twelve

• Review and pay valid debts. Use estate money only. If a debt looks wrong, ask for details before paying.
• File the final income tax return. It is generally due April 15 of the year after death, the same date it would have been due (IRS Publication 559).
• File estate tax returns if required. Washington's threshold is $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026. The return is due nine months after death (Washington Department of Revenue). The federal basic exclusion for 2026 is $15,000,000 (IRS).
• Wait out the contest period. A will challenge must be filed within four months after the will is admitted (RCW 11.24.010).
• Distribute what is left. Follow the will exactly, and get a receipt for each distribution.
• Close the estate. With nonintervention powers, file a declaration of completion. It lists the fees paid to you, the lawyer and others (RCW 11.68.110).

The checklist at a glance

Habits that make the year easier

Write everything down. A simple spreadsheet of money in, money out and who you spoke to will answer most questions later.

Never mix money. Pay estate bills from the estate account, not your own card. Reimbursing yourself later gets messy.

Tell the family what is happening. A short email every month or so heads off most worry and suspicion.

Ask for help early. A lawyer, an accountant, an estate sale company. Their fees are estate expenses and appear in the final declaration.

Here is a typical case, a composite: a retired teacher is named executor for her longtime friend. She lives twenty minutes away, so she handles the house herself. She hires a lawyer for the court filings and an accountant for the final return, and closes the estate in about a year.

If you are writing your own will

Reading a checklist like this one is a good way to see what you are asking of someone.

Some people name a family member and a professional backup. Others name a professional first so the family can simply grieve. Our post on who should be your executor walks through the choice, and naming a backup in every role explains why a second name matters.

Common questions

What is the first thing an executor should do?

Get certified copies of the death certificate and find the original will. Then secure the home and the mail. In Washington, an executor holding the will must deliver it to the court within 40 days of learning of the death.

Does an executor have to pay the estate's debts personally?

No. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says debts are generally paid from the estate. It is illegal for a debt collector to suggest you must pay from your own money. You use the estate's funds to pay valid debts.

How long does an executor have to settle an estate?

In Washington, the duty is to settle as quickly as possible without harming the estate. Creditor and contest windows mean most probates can't close before four months, and many take a year. See how long it takes to settle an estate.

Does an executor need a lawyer?

Not always, but many hire one, at least to open probate. The lawyer's fee is paid from the estate. In Washington, those fees are listed in the declaration of completion that closes the estate.

Can an executor be paid?

Yes. In Washington, if the will sets the pay, that amount controls. Otherwise the court allows what is "just and reasonable." Our post on how much an executor gets paid explains more.

Sources

• RCW 11.02.005: Definitions (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.20.010: Duty of custodian of will (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.24.010: Contest of probate (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.28.010: Letters to executors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.28.237: Notice of appointment (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.40.020: Notice to creditors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.40.051: Time limits for creditors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.44.015: Inventory and appraisement (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.48.010: General powers and duties (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.48.210: Compensation of personal representative (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.62.010: Small estate affidavit (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.011: Nonintervention powers (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.68.110: Declaration of completion (Washington State Legislature)
• Ordering a death record (Washington State Department of Health)
• Does a person's debt go away when they die? (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Agencies to notify when someone dies (USAGov)
• Report the death of a Social Security or Medicare beneficiary (USAGov)
• Publication 559: Survivors, executors and administrators (IRS)
• What's new: estate and gift tax (IRS)
• Estate tax (Washington State Department of Revenue)