What an executor needs to find: a checklist of documents and accounts

Before you start: a box and a log

Get one box for everything you find: statements, letters, policies, keys. Don't throw anything away yet, even envelopes that look like junk. Then start a log. Every time you search somewhere or call someone, write down the date, who you spoke with and what they said. It will save you from repeating calls, and it's a record if questions come up later.

Look in the obvious places first: the desk, the filing cabinet, a fire box or safe, the kitchen drawer where the bills go, and the person's email and phone, if you can get in.

The will, and where the original is

• Look at home first, wherever important papers were kept.
• Call the attorney who prepared it, if you know who that was. Law offices sometimes keep the original for their clients.
• Check for a safe-deposit box. Getting into one after a death depends on the bank's rules, how the box was rented and state law, and sometimes takes court papers. Some states have a narrower process just for finding a will. In California, for example, a person with the key and a certified death certificate can, before the court appoints anyone, get into a box that was in the person's name alone to look for a will, trust documents and burial instructions, and take them out. The bank copies any will first, and the will then goes to the court (Cal. Probate Code § 331). Ask the bank what it needs.
• Look for later changes: a codicil (an amendment to the will), a newer will, or a separate trust document.

The original matters. Courts generally work from the signed original, and some states set a deadline for getting it to the court. In California, whoever has the original must deposit it with the probate court clerk within 30 days of the death (Fresno County Superior Court). Other states have their own rules, so ask the probate court in the county where the person lived.

Death certificates and your own court papers

• Certified death certificates. They come from the vital records office in the state where the death happened, and the funeral home usually helps order them. USA.gov says certified copies are needed to notify Social Security, close bank accounts and claim life insurance or pensions, while a photocopy may be enough for smaller tasks. Make a list of every place that will want one before you order.
• Proof that you're the executor. Being named in a will usually isn't enough on its own. Banks, the IRS and others typically ask for papers from the probate court, often called letters testamentary (or letters of administration when there's no will). Names and procedures vary by state, and many states have simpler procedures for smaller estates. The probate court can tell you what applies.

Bank, retirement and investment accounts

Look for: checking and savings accounts, credit union accounts, CDs, brokerage accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions (including from old jobs), health savings accounts and annuities. Where to look:

• Paper statements, and statement emails in the person's inbox
• Checkbooks, deposit slips and debit cards
• The tax forms that arrive each January and February, like 1099s, which often name the institution
• Recent tax returns, and the person who prepared them
• Former employers' HR or benefits offices, for old retirement plans and pensions

Some accounts pass directly to a named beneficiary or a payable-on-death beneficiary rather than through the will. Each institution can tell you how it handles the account and what it needs from you. Before closing anything, check what's paid from it automatically so nothing important lapses.

If you think something exists but can't find it, search state unclaimed property records too. Our guide to finding lost life insurance and unclaimed money walks through the free official searches.

Insurance policies and benefits

• Life insurance, both individual policies and group coverage through an employer, union or association. Regular premium payments in bank statements are the best clue.
• Annuities and any pension with survivor benefits.
• Home, auto and umbrella policies. Before canceling anything tied to the house or car, ask the insurer what happens to the coverage after a death.
• Health insurance or Medicare plans, long-term care and any prepaid funeral or burial plan.
• Government benefits: Social Security, veterans benefits and federal or state pensions. Our week-by-week checklist covers who to notify and how.

Debts and the credit report

Look for the mortgage, home-equity loans, car loans, credit cards, medical bills and personal loans. A credit report is a quick way to see open accounts and loans. Equifax says the estate's executor or the surviving spouse can request a deceased person's credit report by mail from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, with proof of death and, for an executor, proof of that role.

The Federal Trade Commission says debts are generally paid from what the person left behind, and family members usually don't have to pay them from their own money, with some exceptions, such as a cosigner. It also limits who debt collectors may discuss the debt with. Read the FTC's Debts and Deceased Relatives, and ask the estate's attorney before paying any debt, from the estate or from your own pocket.

Bills and subscriptions

Go through three to six months of bank and credit card statements and list every recurring charge. You're looking for:

• Utilities: electric, gas, water, trash, internet and phone
• Property taxes, HOA dues and insurance premiums
• Streaming services, apps, memberships and subscription boxes
• Charitable donations and anything else on autopay

For each one, note whether it should keep going for now, be transferred or be canceled, and who decided. Some, like utilities and insurance on a house, may need to keep running until the property is dealt with.

Property and vehicle titles

• Real estate: deeds, the mortgage servicer, property tax bills and HOA contacts. Deeds are usually recorded with the county, which can provide a copy if the original isn't in the house. Note any rental property and its leases.
• Vehicles: titles for cars, boats, motorcycles and RVs, and any loans on them. Each state's motor vehicles office has its own process for transferring a title after a death.
• Other property: storage units, timeshares, cemetery plots, and anything valuable like jewelry, collections or art.
• Business interests: if the person owned part of a business, the agreements and the people to contact.
• Keys: house, car, mailbox, storage unit and safe-deposit box.

Digital accounts

Make a list of devices (phone, computer, tablet) and accounts: email, photo storage, social media, online banking and bill pay, shopping, and any cryptocurrency. Email is often the key that unlocks the rest, since statements and password resets go there.

Most states have adopted a version of a uniform law on executors and digital accounts. In general, it lets a person's own choices in a company's online tool, like Apple's Legacy Contact or Google's Inactive Account Manager, take priority. Without the person's consent or a court order, an executor usually can't see the content of emails and messages, though a list of them may be available. Each company has its own process for families and executors, and our guide to Apple, Google and Facebook legacy settings explains what each one offers. Check with the estate's attorney before signing in to someone's accounts with their password.

Tax records

• The last few years of tax returns, and who prepared them. They help with the final return, and they often point to accounts you didn't know about.
• This year's tax forms as they arrive: W-2s, 1099s and the rest.
• Copies from the IRS, if you can't find returns at home. The IRS says an executor or administrator can request the person's tax information with a death certificate and court-approved letters testamentary, or Form 56. Form 4506 gets a copy of a return, for a fee. Form 4506-T gets a transcript, and many transcripts are free.
• Property tax records for any real estate.

The IRS explains the person's final income tax return and, in Publication 559, the tax duties of survivors, executors and administrators. A tax professional can help with both.

The mail

Mail is how executors find the accounts, policies and bills nobody mentioned, so watch it for at least a year. That includes the January and February tax forms. The Postal Service says only the appointed executor or administrator can change a deceased person's address, in person at a Post Office, with documents showing that authority. A death certificate alone isn't enough (USPS).

How a Family File shortens the search

Almost everything above is a search for where something is. When a person has written that down, most of this checklist becomes a list of phone calls.

A filled-in Family File has a place for each piece: Money (institution, account type and last four digits), Insurance (company, policy type and where the policy is), Home & Property (where the deed and titles are), Bills & Subscriptions (what's on autopay), Digital Life (whether legacy contacts are set up), Taxes & Records (who prepares the taxes and where past returns are) and a Legal Documents Locator (whether there's a will and where the original is). No full account numbers or passwords, just the map.

If you've been named executor for someone who is still living, the most useful thing you can do now is ask them where things are. Our guide on how to talk to your parents about the Family File has gentle ways to start.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. An executor's duties vary by state, and agency rules change, so check the linked official sources. An estate attorney in the state where the person lived, or the probate court, can explain the specifics. Last reviewed October 2026.