Get it on the App Store
Get it on Google Play
An executor is the person named in a will to sort out everything someone leaves behind: the bank accounts, the bills, the home, the possessions, and then sharing it out the way the will says. That’s how it works in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions, with different names for some of the steps.
What the job involves
The legal right to deal with someone’s money, property and possessions is called probate. If there’s a will, the executors named in it can apply for it, and up to four can be on the application. Not every case needs probate, so it depends on what the person owned and how it was held. GOV.UK has the detail.
Once an executor has the green light, the work is mostly admin: finding out what there is, paying any bills and tax, then passing things on as the will says. If there’s no will, there’s no executor. The closest living relative can apply instead.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The job is much the same, with different names and different courts. In Scotland, an executor is usually named in the will, and the legal authority to deal with things is called confirmation, applied for through the sheriff court. If there’s no executor, the court can appoint one. In Northern Ireland it’s probate again, but the authority comes from the High Court. If there’s no will, a close relative can apply for what’s called letters of administration. Each has its own official guide: Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Who can be one
Anyone you trust can be named: a partner, a relative, a friend, or a professional such as a solicitor. You can name more than one. An executor only inherits something if the will names them as a beneficiary too, so the two jobs are separate, even when one person does both. We cover that in can an executor be a beneficiary.
Being named doesn’t lock anyone in. Before they’ve started dealing with the estate, an executor can give up the role, or step back from the paperwork and keep the right to apply later. Not sure who to name? Here’s what makes a good gatekeeper, which is a handy test for executors too.
Where a gatekeeper fits
An executor deals with the paperwork. That doesn’t make them the person who knows you’d want Oasis playing, which friend should hear first, or where the good photos live. A gatekeeper is.
On Twentyfive, a gatekeeper is someone you choose to look after your wishes and your story on your Twentyfive Card: your songs, your people, the little things only you’d think of. They only see what you choose to share. They sit alongside an executor, and they don’t take over any of the legal job.
One person can be both, or you can split the jobs. Your call, and there’s no limit on gatekeepers.
Quick answers
Is an executor the same as a gatekeeper?
No. An executor is named in a will and deals with the legal and money side. A gatekeeper looks after your wishes and story on Twentyfive. They can be the same person, but they don’t have to be.
What if there’s no will?
Then there’s no executor. The closest living relative can apply to deal with things instead.
Can an executor say no?
Before they’ve started dealing with the estate, yes: someone named as an executor can give up the role, or hold back now and keep the right to apply later.
Whoever you’d trust with the paperwork, there’s probably someone else who knows the real you. Start with their name.
