Your journey at a glance
One thing first
You have just been named executor. Somewhere on your desk or in your inbox there is a will with your name on it, and a quiet sense that a lot now rests on you. Before you touch a single form, it helps to see the whole road ahead. This first step gives you the map.
What you need to know
Administering an estate is not one giant task. It is a sequence of phases, each with a small, clear job. You move through them roughly in order: register the death, find and value what the person owned and owed, apply for the grant of probate if you need one, settle debts and any tax, then share out what remains and keep a record of it.
Think of it like following a recipe. You do not need to hold every ingredient at once. You just need to know the steps are laid out and that you will meet each one when its time comes.
The most useful thing you can do today is create one home for every piece of paper, so nothing gets lost as you go.
Documents you will need to hand for this step
- The will (the original if you have it)
- Any letters already received about the death or the estate
- A ringbinder, folder, or a single folder on your computer to gather everything
How to approach it
Watch how an assistant can lay out the full journey in plain order, so you can see the shape of what is ahead before you begin.
Together
Now make it about your situation. Fill in the blank with what you already know, and let the assistant point you to your very first move.
Your turn
Ask your own question about the road ahead, in your own words.
Check · s0
Why is it worth setting up a single folder before you start any of the estate tasks?
You've now sorted
You can see the whole estate journey at a glance, you have one folder ready to hold every paper, and you know exactly which phase to pick up first.
Checkpoints
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This step is done when you can tick all of these: