Skip to content
Money GuideAll guides
How-to · Step-by-step

How to choose an executor for your UK will

In short. Pick 1–4 adults who are organised, likely to outlive you and willing to take on the role; consider a professional backup if the estate is complex; and tell them they've been named.

Executors administer your estate after death — applying for probate, paying debts and Inheritance Tax, then distributing the estate. They can be held personally liable for mistakes, so the choice matters more than most people realise.

Last reviewed:

·Estimated time: 1 day·Cost: £0 (family or friend) or 1–5% of estate (professional)

What you'll need

  • List of potential executors and their full names and addresses

The steps

  1. 01

    Understand what the role involves

    Executors register the death (if not already done), value the estate, report and pay Inheritance Tax, apply for probate, collect assets, pay debts, and distribute to beneficiaries. The work typically takes 9–12 months and longer for complex estates.

    Official link →

  2. 02

    Decide how many to appoint

    Most wills name 2–4 executors. You can name a single executor with one or more substitutes. A maximum of 4 executors can take out probate together. Co-executors must all agree on decisions — too many and decision-making slows; too few and there's no back-up if one can't act.

  3. 03

    Pick candidates with the right traits

    Look for: organised with paperwork, comfortable with money, likely to outlive you, willing to act, and able to be impartial between beneficiaries. Geography helps too — an executor abroad makes everything harder.

  4. 04

    Consider a professional backup

    For complex estates (business, foreign assets, trusts, blended families), a solicitor or trust corporation can be named as a backup executor. They typically charge 1–5% of gross estate, or by hourly rate. Naming them as backup only avoids paying fees if family can manage.

  5. 05

    Ask before naming

    Tell potential executors you want to name them, what's involved, and where the will and key documents will be kept. They can renounce probate after death, but it's much easier if they've agreed in life.

  6. 06

    Review periodically

    Check every few years that your executors are still alive, in the UK, well and willing. Update the will by codicil or rewrite if your first-choice executor can no longer act.

Common pitfalls

  • Naming an executor without asking — they may renounce, leaving the estate without anyone with authority to act
  • Naming only one executor who then dies before you — substitutes prevent the will having to go to administration
  • Naming a bank as executor without checking the fees — bank executor fees are often the highest on the market
  • Naming all the children jointly when they don't get on — a single decision can stall for months

FAQ

Can my spouse be both executor and beneficiary?
Yes — this is the most common arrangement in mirror wills. There's no conflict of interest in UK law between being executor and beneficiary.
Can my child under 18 be an executor?
They can be appointed but cannot act until they turn 18. The court will appoint someone else (typically the other parent) to act until the child reaches majority.
Can an executor charge for their time?
Family or friend executors can claim expenses but not a fee unless the will expressly allows it. Solicitors and other professional executors can charge their published rates if the will authorises it (most professionally-drafted wills do).
← All how-to guides