Client guide · Wills & Estates
When someone dies: the executor's first two weeks
Being named an executor lands at the worst possible time, alongside grief and a hundred small obligations. The good news is that the first two weeks ask very little law of you. They ask you to secure things, find documents, and avoid rushing. Distribution comes much later.
G.1 First, you do not have to do everything at once
The single most useful thing to know is that an executor's real work unfolds over months, not days. In the first two weeks almost nothing is urgent in a legal sense. The job at this stage is to protect what exists and gather information, not to settle the estate.
Resist any pressure, including your own, to distribute money or possessions quickly. Handing out assets before debts, taxes, and the will are sorted can leave you personally responsible for the shortfall. Slow is correct here.
G.2 The immediate, practical tasks
The genuinely time-sensitive things are practical, not legal. Arrange the funeral according to any wishes, secure the home and any vehicles, make sure pets and dependents are cared for, and stop obvious ongoing risks like an unlocked property.
Notify the closest people, and locate the deceased's key documents: the will, identification, and a rough sense of what accounts and property exist. You do not need every detail yet, just enough to see the shape of the estate.
G.3 Find the will and confirm you are the executor
Find the most recent will and read it. It names the executor, and if that is you, it is your authority to act, subject to the estate later being probated where that is required. If you cannot find a will, or find several, stop and get advice before acting on any of them.
Being named does not force you to serve. You can decline or step back, but it is cleaner to decide that early than to act and then withdraw. If you are unsure, that is a reasonable first question for a lawyer.
G.4 Gathering the estate on paper
Over the following weeks, the work becomes an inventory: a list of what the person owned and owed, with rough values. Bank accounts, property, investments, vehicles, and debts all go on the list. This inventory is the backbone of everything that follows, including probate and taxes.
You do not have to build it perfectly or alone. Institutions will tell you what they need, and where an estate is large or tangled, this is the point where many executors bring in help.
G.5 When to get help, and what it costs
Simple estates can sometimes be administered by a careful executor with limited assistance. Estates get complicated for reasons that are easy to spot: real property, a business, beneficiaries in conflict, or an unclear or contested will. Those are the files where advice early saves money later.
If a lawyer assists, the work can be quoted flat or hourly depending on the estate, and you will have the fee in writing before it begins. Our published rates are on the fee schedule. Reasonable estate expenses, including that help, generally come out of the estate, not your own pocket.
G.6 Questions people actually ask
- Do I have to act as executor just because I was named?
- No. Being named in a will does not compel you to serve. You can decline, or renounce, and someone else takes over according to the will or the law. It is far cleaner to decide before you start handling the estate than to act and then try to withdraw, so if you are unsure, get that question answered early.
- Can I start giving out money and belongings right away?
- It is one of the most common and costly mistakes. Before anything is distributed, the estate's debts and taxes have to be accounted for, and in BC there is also a window in which the will can be challenged. An executor who distributes too soon can be left personally responsible for what is owed. Secure things first; distribute last.
G.7 Related reading
Wills & EstatesThe practice page this guide supports.
This guide is general information about BC, not legal advice about your situation. For that, the consultation is ten minutes and free.
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