Handling an estate when someone dies means stepping into a defined legal role: you (or whoever is named executor) secure the person’s property, get official authority from the probate court, pull together a full picture of what they owned and owed, notify and pay creditors in the right order, file the required tax returns, and then distribute what remains to the heirs. Straightforward estates take six to nine months. Complicated ones can run two years or longer.
Most of the work falls on the executor named in the will. If there’s no will, a close family member usually petitions the court to be appointed administrator and does the same job under state intestacy rules. The rest of this guide walks through the sequence in the order the tasks actually come up.
What To Do in the First Week
A few things really are time-sensitive. The death has to be officially pronounced by someone with authority — a doctor or hospice nurse. Hospital and nursing facility staff handle this on the spot. If the person was on hospice at home, the hospice team already has a plan. Otherwise, call the person’s doctor, the local coroner, or a funeral home to find out how to proceed.1National Institute on Aging. What To Do After Someone Dies
Order certified copies of the death certificate through the funeral home, and order at least 10. Banks, insurance companies, government agencies, and the probate court all require originals, and most won’t accept photocopies. Running out midway through is a common headache, and ordering more later takes longer and costs more per copy.2USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate
While the certificates are being processed, secure the property. Lock the home, move vehicles somewhere safe, and get valuables out of sight. If the person lived alone, consider changing the locks. Theft from the homes of recently deceased people is more common than families expect, and the executor can be blamed if property goes missing.
Report the death to the Social Security Administration. The funeral director usually handles this, but confirm — don’t assume.3USAGov. Agencies to Notify When Someone Dies A surviving spouse or eligible child may qualify for a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 from Social Security, but the application has to be made within two years.4Social Security Administration. Lump-Sum Death Payment
Then start looking for the will. Check the home, the safe deposit box, and files with the person’s attorney. You need the original, not a copy, to open probate.
Opening Probate and Getting Legal Authority
Probate is the court-supervised process for validating the will, appointing the executor or administrator, and overseeing debts and distributions. It starts when the executor files the original will, a petition, and the death certificate with the local probate court.5Internal Revenue Service. Deceased Person
If the court accepts the petition, it issues a document granting the executor legal authority. With a will, that document is called Letters Testamentary. Without a will, it’s Letters of Administration. Either way, this is what banks, title companies, and government agencies need to see before they’ll deal with you. Nothing much happens on the estate’s behalf until you have it.
Not every estate needs full probate. Most states offer simplified procedures for smaller ones, with qualifying thresholds ranging roughly from $5,000 to $150,000 depending on the state. Some states let heirs collect assets using a sworn statement — often called a small estate affidavit — with no court appearance at all. These shortcuts usually apply only to probate assets and often exclude real estate, so an estate with a modest bank balance but a house may still need formal probate. Check your state’s probate court website or ask a local attorney.
If There’s No Will
When someone dies without a will, they’re “intestate,” and state law dictates who inherits. Every state has its own statute, but the general pattern puts a surviving spouse and children first, and more distant relatives inherit only if no spouse or children survive. If no relatives can be found, the property eventually goes to the state.
Also worth knowing: even when a will exists, it can’t fully disinherit a spouse in most states. A surviving spouse generally has the right to claim a minimum share — commonly about one-third of the probate estate — called an elective share. Community property states handle this differently, but the practical result is similar.
Inventorying Assets and Debts
Before you can pay anyone or distribute anything, you need a complete picture of what the person owned and what they owed. This is almost always more work than people expect.
Pull together recent statements for every bank and investment account, deeds for real property, vehicle titles, life insurance policies, and statements for retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs. Look for less obvious assets too: digital accounts, safe deposit boxes, business interests, money owed to the deceased, and pending tax refunds.
Give debts the same treatment. Collect mortgage statements, credit card bills, personal loan documents, medical bills, and utility balances. The executor is responsible for paying legitimate debts from estate funds before distributing anything to heirs, so an incomplete picture here causes real problems later.
Notifying and Paying Creditors
Formally notify creditors by mailing notice to every known creditor and by publishing a notice in a local newspaper. The published notice starts a clock. Creditors who don’t file a claim within the statutory window, commonly four to six months depending on state, lose the right to collect from the estate.
Do not distribute assets to heirs before that window closes. This is one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes an executor can make. If you hand out inheritances and a valid creditor claim comes in afterward, you may have to cover the shortfall yourself.
Debts aren’t paid in the order the bills arrive. Every state sets a priority order, and the general pattern looks like this:
- Administrative expenses first: court costs, attorney fees, and executor compensation.
- Funeral and burial costs.
- Tax obligations, federal and state, owed by the deceased or the estate.
- Medical bills from the final illness.
- All other debts, including credit cards and personal loans.
If the estate can’t pay everyone, lower-priority creditors get less or nothing, and heirs may receive no inheritance at all. Federal law adds a critical wrinkle. If the estate is insolvent, debts owed to the U.S. government must be paid before other creditors, and an executor who pays other debts first can be held personally liable for the unpaid government claims.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 US Code 3713 – Priority of Government Claims
Tax Returns the Executor Has To File
An estate can trigger up to three separate tax filings. Missing any of them is one of the fastest ways to create personal liability.
The Deceased Person’s Final Form 1040
The executor files a final personal income tax return covering January 1 through the date of death. It follows the normal tax deadline — April 15 of the year after the person died — and can be extended the same way any personal return can.7Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died It includes all income earned up to the date of death: wages, investment income, everything. A surviving spouse can file jointly for that final year if they haven’t remarried.
Estate Income Tax Return (Form 1041)
After death, the estate itself becomes a separate taxpayer. Any income the estate’s assets generate — interest on bank accounts, dividends, rental income — gets reported on Form 1041. The estate needs its own Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, and you’ll need that EIN to open an estate bank account too. You can apply online at irs.gov in a few minutes.8Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator Filing is required if the estate earns more than $600 in gross income during any tax year.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No 356, Decedents
Federal Estate Tax (Form 706)
Federal estate tax applies only to estates exceeding the basic exclusion amount, which for 2026 is $15,000,000 per individual.10Internal Revenue Service. Estate Tax That threshold was set by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025.11Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax Married couples can effectively double the exemption to $30,000,000 through portability, which lets the surviving spouse claim the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion. Estates above the threshold are taxed at graduated rates topping out at 40%.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2001 – Imposition and Rate of Tax
If estate tax applies, Form 706 is due within nine months of the date of death. An automatic six-month extension is available by filing Form 4768 before the original deadline, but it extends only the filing deadline. Estimated taxes may still be due at nine months.13Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Estate Taxes
Most estates fall well below $15,000,000 and owe no federal estate tax. But some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at much lower thresholds, so check your state’s rules even if federal doesn’t apply.
Assets That Skip Probate Entirely
A significant chunk of what most people own never passes through probate. These assets transfer directly to a named beneficiary or surviving co-owner regardless of what the will says:
- Life insurance policies and retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs with a named beneficiary.
- Bank accounts designated payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD).
- Real estate or accounts held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, which pass to the surviving owner by operation of law.
- Anything properly transferred into a revocable living trust during the person’s lifetime, which the trustee distributes according to the trust’s terms.
Claiming these is usually simple. The beneficiary or surviving owner presents a certified death certificate and identification to the financial institution or title company. No court involvement.
One caution worth flagging for the family: beneficiary designations override the will. If the will leaves an IRA to a daughter but the account’s beneficiary form still names an ex-spouse, the ex-spouse gets the money.
Executor Pay and Personal Liability
Executors are entitled to be paid. Most states either set a fee schedule based on a percentage of the estate’s value or allow “reasonable compensation” as determined by the court. Percentage-based states typically use a sliding scale, with the highest rate on the first tier of estate value and lower rates as the total rises. In practice, executor fees commonly fall between 1% and 5% of the estate. Family executors often waive the fee, but if you take it, it counts as taxable income.
An executor is a fiduciary. That means a legal obligation to act in the estate’s best interest, not your own. If an executor mismanages assets, plays favorites among beneficiaries, or pays debts in the wrong order, the court can remove them and order them to personally compensate the estate for its losses. Theft or fraud can bring criminal charges.
Probate courts often require the executor to post a surety bond, essentially an insurance policy protecting beneficiaries and creditors if the executor mishandles funds. The estate typically pays the premium. Many wills include a provision waiving the bond, and adult beneficiaries can also sign waivers, but the judge has final say.
Tax liability is the risk executors most often underestimate. Under federal law, an executor who distributes estate assets before paying debts owed to the U.S. government, including income taxes and estate taxes, can be held personally responsible for those unpaid amounts.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 US Code 3713 – Priority of Government Claims Before writing checks to beneficiaries, make sure every federal tax obligation has been paid or that enough funds are set aside to cover it.
Medicaid Estate Recovery
Families are often caught off guard by this one. Federal law requires every state to run a Medicaid estate recovery program. If the deceased person received Medicaid-funded long-term care — nursing home stays, home health aides, related hospital and prescription drug services — the state has a legal claim against the estate to recoup those costs.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries
Recovery applies to people who were 55 or older when they received Medicaid, or who were permanently institutionalized at any age. The amounts can be enormous. Years of nursing home care can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the state’s claim comes ahead of distributions to heirs.15U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medicaid Estate Recovery
There are protections. States cannot recover during the lifetime of a surviving spouse, or when the deceased is survived by a child who is under 21, blind, or permanently disabled. States must also waive recovery when it would cause undue hardship, and federal guidelines specifically mention modest-value homes and income-producing property like family farms that surviving relatives depend on.15U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medicaid Estate Recovery
If Medicaid recovery could affect the estate, contact your state’s Medicaid agency early. The claim won’t go away on its own, and knowing its size lets you plan distributions honestly.
A Note on Power of Attorney
A power of attorney terminates the moment the person dies. Any authority the agent had — including under a durable power of attorney — ends automatically. The agent has no legal power to access accounts, sign documents, or make decisions after death. Everything shifts to the executor or administrator once Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are issued. Families sometimes try to use an existing power of attorney to handle banking in the days after a death and get turned away. If you were the agent, step back and let the executor take over.