Executor and beneficiary? You can wear both hats

Good news if you’ve been named as an executor and you’re in line to inherit too: the two go together just fine. Someone can act as an executor even if they’re going to inherit something from the will, and it’s often a spouse, child or other family member who does both. That’s how it works in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, which we link to in executor explained.

Two hats, one person

Think of them as two separate hats. The executor hat is the job: dealing with everything someone leaves behind. The beneficiary hat is the gift: receiving something under the will. Being named as an executor doesn’t mean inheriting anything. GOV.UK says you only inherit if you’re also named as a beneficiary in the will.

So one person can wear both, which is often the case, or the hats can go to different people. It all comes down to what the will says.

What it looks like day to day

The job is the same whether or not you inherit: deal with what’s there, pay any bills and tax, then share things out as the will says, for everyone named in it, not just you. With more than one executor, you make decisions together.

At the end, the final accounts of what came in and went out should be approved and signed by the executor and the main beneficiaries, so everyone can see how it went. Handy when one person’s wearing both hats.

And you can claim reasonable expenses back from the estate, like funeral costs and the fee to apply for probate.

Where Twentyfive fits

Wills are coming to Twentyfive, and your Twentyfive Card is ready now. Whoever’s holding the paperwork, there’s probably someone else who knows your songs, your stories and where the good photos live. On Twentyfive, that’s a gatekeeper: someone you choose to look after your wishes and your story on your Twentyfive Card. They only see what you choose to share, and there’s no limit on gatekeepers.

Quick answers