What is an Executor?
An Executor is the person legally responsible for dealing with someone’s estate after they die. Executors must act in good faith and in the best interests of the people entitled to inherit and any creditors of the estate.
An estate can have a single Executor, or multiple Executors who are equally responsible.
Executors are named in a Will, or appointed by the Sheriff Court if there is no Will.
What an Executor does
If you are the Executor for someone’s estate in Scotland, your responsibilities cover the whole process of estate administration.
Executor duty | What this means |
Valuing the estate | Collecting details of all assets and debts as they were on the date of death. |
Applying for Confirmation (if needed) | Gives you the legal authority to deal with the estate. In practice, some assets/accounts can be dealt with without this. |
Paying debts and expenses from the estate | Includes funeral costs, taxes, and any other liabilities. |
Distributing the estate | Making sure the right people inherit what they are entitled to under the Will, or the law if there is no Will. |
Executors often also deal with other immediate tasks, such as securing the person’s home or arranging care for pets or dependents. These are not strictly Executor duties but can fall to you unless someone else is better placed to handle them.
Legal and financial obligations
As an Executor, you have legal obligations to report correct information to the Court and HMRC, and to make sure the estate is distributed correctly. If you make mistakes, there can be consequences, such as fines, being sued by beneficiaries, or, in extreme cases, being prosecuted.
In reality, the highest likelihood is extra delay and cost, not punishment. For example, because the Court does not check and verify asset details or ownership splits, they can approve an application even if something important is missing or incorrect. This might mean you have to submit an amended application later.
Without the right support, you might also miss out on applying for time-limited tax exemptions, like the transferable spouse allowance and transferable residence allowance. This means the estate would have to pay more tax, including interest.
Support for Executors
You don’t have to do everything yourself. You can get support from:
family and friends. In theory, Executors only need to sign things – the rest can be delegated.
organisations like Citizens Advice or charities. These options are free and can be useful for general guidance, but they don’t normally provide personalised support on the legal or tax aspects of estate administration.
a solicitor, or a professional support service like ours. This provides reassurance, reduces the chance of mistakes or delays, and makes sure all legal and tax requirements are covered.
If you don’t want to be an Executor
You don’t have to act as an Executor just because you are named in a Will, but you would need to officially resign before someone applies for Confirmation.
You do not have to be appointed as Executor-dative when there is no Will, even if you are eligible.
In an estate with a Will, if all named executors are unable or unwilling to act, the people inheriting a percentage of the estate (the ‘residual beneficiaries’) will normally be appointed through the Confirmation process.
If there is no Will, nothing happens unless a person entitled to inherit from the estate applies to be Executor-dative. The exception is that a creditor can apply to be appointed, so they can recover what they are owed.
Thinking of being an Executor?
It is important to understand what the role involves before agreeing to be named as Executor in someone’s Will, or applying to be Executor-dative. Executors take on legal and financial obligations and may be held responsible if things go wrong. However, with the right support, many people handle it successfully.