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For the new executor

An executor has 73 things to do.
We track all of them.

Free week-one checklist for the new executor. Built by someone who’s been the executor — not a law firm, not a funeral home, not a chatbot.

Get the checklist →

Not a law firm. General information only — never legal advice. Consult a probate attorney licensed in your state.

Week 16 of 73
  • Locate the will
  • Notify the bank
  • Order 12 death certificates
  • Cancel the streaming services
  • Pay the final utilities
  • File the inventory with probate court
…and 67 more, across the next 18 months.
Who builds this

Built by someone who’s been the executor.

Not a law firm and not a marketing site that subcontracts the hard parts. Every checklist on ExecutorHome was written by someone who has actually carried a folder marked “Mom” into a probate clerk’s office.

By the numbers

47 / 9

The average estate has 47 accounts to close. Most executors miss 9 of them. Streaming, store credit, old PayPal, a forgotten brokerage — the small ones add up to real money.

From other executors
“I didn’t need a lawyer for most of it. I needed a list of what was supposed to happen next.”
— Executor of her father’s estate, Michigan
“Three siblings, no will, one house in California. The checklist kept us from arguing about the wrong things.”
— Co-executor, California intestate estate
The whole map

Find yourself on the timeline.

Settling an estate isn’t one job — it’s four. Most executors are somewhere on this map and don’t realize how far along they actually are.

  1. Stage 1 · Days 1–73 core tasks

    The panic phase

    The first week is about not making it worse. Lock down the house, find the will, order more death certificates than you think you'll need.

  2. Stage 2 · Days 8–305 core tasks

    The legal phase

    Probate court enters the picture. You'll file the petition, get appointed, open an estate account, and start telling banks and Social Security.

  3. Stage 3 · Days 31–906 core tasks

    The inventory phase

    Now the slow work: every asset, every debt, every account. Real estate decisions. Creditor notices. The boring middle nobody warns you about.

  4. Stage 4 · Month 4 →5 core tasks

    Final settlement

    The long tail. The final tax return, the last asset transfers, distributions to beneficiaries, and the court paperwork that actually closes the estate.

See the full executor task list →
By state

Probate runs on state rules.

Same death certificate, fifty different probate codes. Start with your state to see the court, the timeline, and the small-estate threshold.

All 50 states →
The week-one checklist

Free. Printable. 50 items.

The exact list of what to do in your first seven days as executor — what to find, who to call, what to order in quantity. Built by someone who’s been the executor.

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