Being named an executor is a mark of trust, and a real job. You become personally responsible for gathering the estate, paying its debts and delivering what remains to the right people, at a time when you may also be grieving. This checklist sets out what the role involves in Victoria, roughly in order, and where the traps lie.
1. Immediately after the death
- Support arrangements for the funeral. The executor has the legal say on funeral and burial or cremation decisions, though in practice families decide together. Reasonable funeral costs are paid from the estate.
- Secure the home, vehicles and valuables. Change locks if the house will sit empty; tell the insurer, because unoccupied homes can fall outside cover.
- Locate the original will. Check with the deceased's lawyer, bank and papers. Order death certificates through the funeral director.
2. Map the estate
Build a complete picture of assets and liabilities at the date of death: property and how it is owned, bank accounts, shares, superannuation, insurance, business interests, debts, and anything owed to the deceased. This inventory drives everything else — whether probate is needed, what the court fee will be, and what tax work is coming. Remember that jointly owned assets and superannuation usually pass outside the will.
3. Obtain the grant
Where a grant of probate is required, the application is advertised on the Supreme Court of Victoria's online system, then filed with the executor's affidavit and the inventory. Most straightforward grants issue within weeks of filing. Until the grant, your authority to deal with many assets is limited — avoid selling or distributing anything beyond what is urgent and clearly authorised.
4. Collect assets and pay debts
With the grant in hand, close accounts, transfer or sell shares and property as the will requires, and call in any money owed. Debts are paid in a legally set order — funeral and administration expenses first — and always before gifts. If the estate might be insolvent, stop and take advice immediately; paying the wrong creditor first is one of the classic sources of executor liability.
5. Deal with tax
The executor must attend to the deceased's final personal tax return, and the estate itself may need returns for income it earns during administration. Selling estate assets can trigger capital gains consequences that careful timing avoids. We work alongside the estate's accountant so nothing is missed and nothing unnecessary is paid.
6. Wait out the six months — then distribute
In Victoria, an eligible person can bring a family provision claim generally within six months of the grant of probate. Executors who distribute before that window closes, on notice of a possible claim, can be personally liable if the estate cannot then satisfy an order. The practical rule: publish the required notices, wait out the period, resolve any claims, and only then distribute. Our guide to contesting a will explains who can claim.
7. Account to the beneficiaries
Keep records from day one: every receipt, every payment, every decision. Beneficiaries are entitled to proper information, and clear estate accounts are the executor's best protection against later complaint. In our experience most estate conflict is caused less by the numbers than by silence — regular, plain updates keep trust intact.
The risks of getting it wrong
Executors have been held personally liable for distributing early, ignoring known claims, selling assets carelessly, mixing estate money with their own, and unreasonable delay — beneficiaries can complain about an administration that drifts well past the customary "executor's year". None of this should frighten a careful person, but it explains why the law allows executors to engage professionals at the estate's expense.
Executor's commission
Executors are not automatically paid. The will may leave the executor a gift or authorise payment; otherwise, an executor may seek commission for their "pains and trouble" — either with the informed consent of every adult beneficiary or by order of the court, which weighs the size of the estate, the work actually done and the care shown. Professional administrators charge on a different footing. If you expect the role to be demanding, it is far better to deal with payment openly at the start than to surprise beneficiaries at the end.
Working with co-executors
Wills often appoint two executors — commonly two siblings — and the law requires them to act jointly: both signatures on the application, both on the sale documents, both on the accounts. That works well while they agree. Where relations are strained, decide early how you will divide the practical workload, keep every communication in writing, and use a single shared record of estate transactions. If deadlock threatens the administration, options range from one executor renouncing through to a court application — expensive, and almost always avoidable with early advice.
Can I say no?
Yes. Being named does not oblige you to act. You can renounce before taking any steps in the administration, letting a co-executor or the person next entitled apply instead. What you cannot easily do is start the job and then abandon it — renouncing after "intermeddling" needs the court's blessing. If you are hesitating, take advice before touching the estate.
Two questions executors ask first
Can I be reimbursed for what I spend? Yes — reasonable expenses properly incurred for the estate, from the funeral deposit to travel for estate business, are repaid from estate funds. Keep every receipt from day one; reimbursement without records breeds suspicion even where every dollar was honest.
How long do I have? There is no fixed statutory deadline for completing an administration, but the customary yardstick is the executor's year, and beneficiaries can seek intervention where an estate drifts without reason. Steady progress, documented and communicated, is the standard the law expects.
You do not have to do this alone
Most executors we act for have never done the job before. Some want a checklist and a safety net; others hand us the whole administration — court application, asset collection, accounts and distribution — and simply approve each step. Either way the estate pays on a written estimate you see before we begin. Start with our wills and estates page or call for a first conversation that costs nothing.
We guide executors step by step, or take on the whole administration for a fee agreed in writing. Call (03) 9001 4400 or send an enquiry.
This guide reflects the law applying in Victoria as at July 2026. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not take your circumstances into account.