Executor checklist
You’ve been asked to handle the estate. Here is the shape of it.
A free, step-by-step checklist for every part of the estate, from finding the will to closing it out, that your family can follow along with.
Free for families. No card. It works alongside a lawyer if you have one.
Your name is on the will. Now what?
Maybe you said yes years ago, when it felt like a formality. Maybe nobody asked you at all.
Either way, the bank wants paperwork, the court has its own forms, and your family keeps asking how it’s going. It’s fine not to know how this works yet. Nobody is expected to arrive knowing.
- Where is the original will? Does a copy count?
- It’s one of the first tasks on the list, and the task says why it matters: probate needs the original.
- The bank wants letters testamentary. What are those?
- Papers from the probate court that let you act for the estate. The task for closing bank accounts says when a bank will ask for them.
- I don’t want my sister to think I’m keeping things from her.
- Invite her. She sees the same list you do, with every note on it.
Key estate tasks, in the order they usually happen.
Most estates take 6 to 18 months. Here’s what happens when.
Weeks 1–2
- Locate will and documents
Weeks 2–6
- Start probate
Months 1–3
- Close bank accounts
- Notify creditors
Months 3–12
- File final tax returns
- Prepare accounting
Months 6–18
- Distribute to beneficiaries
- Formally close the estate
Typical timing, not a deadline. Probate works differently from state to state, and the state guides cover yours.
A lot of an executor’s job happens far from any courtroom: phone calls and paperwork, done patiently and in roughly the right order.
Guides for your state.
Probate works differently from one state to the next: the forms, the timelines, sometimes even the name.
There’s a plain-language guide to probate, executor duties and death certificates for every state and DC. None of them need an account.
A record of everything you did, kept for you.
As executor, you may need to show the court and the family what you did and when. Every task you complete is saved with its date, next to the notes you and your family leave, so you have a record to draw on when it’s time to account.
Every step dated.
Each task you finish is saved with the day you finished it.
Deadlines explained.
The state guides cover creditor windows, tax dates and court filings, so you know what to watch for.
The family stays informed.
Beneficiaries you invite see progress without calling you every week.
Questions executors ask us
What does an executor actually do?
Broadly: find the will, ask the court to confirm you as executor, gather and protect what the person owned, pay valid debts and taxes, then pass what’s left to the beneficiaries and close the estate. The details vary by state, which is why there’s an executor duties guide for each one.
Do I need a lawyer to be an executor?
It depends on the estate and on your state. Plenty of executors work with an estate attorney, and some handle a simple estate on their own. Omuna isn’t a law firm and doesn’t file court documents. Where a step usually needs an attorney or tax professional, the task says so.
Is probate the same in every state?
No. Each state has its own process, forms and timelines. Our probate guides cover all 50 states and DC. Louisiana uses a different system, called succession, and its guide explains it.
Can my siblings or a co-executor see the checklist?
Yes, if you invite them. Each invitation shares one specific case. Everyone you invite sees the same list, and you can assign tasks to each other by name and leave notes.
What if I’m handling more than one estate?
Each person gets their own case, with its own checklist and its own invited family. You can switch between them from your account home.
Does it cost anything?
No. The checklist and the guides are free for families, and so are the tools for writing a notification or an obituary. There is no card to enter, however long the estate takes.
Others we help
- Families after a lossSomeone has died and there is a lot to do. Start here.
- CaregiversLooking after a parent now, and getting ready for later.
- Funeral homesAftercare that keeps going once the service is over.
- Hospice teamsSomething to give families before the loss, and after it.
- End-of-life doulasYou hold the emotional work. Let the paperwork live somewhere else.
- Grief counselorsKeep sessions on grief. Let the to-do list live somewhere else.
- Estate attorneysAn organized list for the non-legal work around the estate.
- Employers & HRSomething kind and useful to share with a grieving colleague.
Take it one task at a time.
The estate won’t be settled this week, and it doesn’t have to be. Start with the next step, and let the list hold the rest.
Free for families. Not legal advice.