Estate Administration: Duties of an Executor

Being named in a will does not give you authority. It gives you a job that begins once the court appoints you, and the job runs on statutory deadlines that start immediately. This page sets out what a District personal representative actually has to do, in the order it has to be done.

Getting Appointed

Administration begins with a petition filed in the Probate Division. Under D.C. Code § 20-501, appointment requires filing a statement accepting the duties of the office, any required bond, and written consent to personal jurisdiction in the District.

Nonresidents face an added step. D.C. Code § 20-303 requires a personal representative who does not live in the District to file an irrevocable power of attorney designating the Register of Wills as the person on whom notices and process may be served, with the same effect as personal service. The Register then forwards everything to the address stated in that document.

Once appointed, you receive letters of administration. That is the document banks and title companies will ask for, so obtain several certified copies at the outset.

Giving Notice Within 20 Days

Two notice obligations arrive together, and both carry a 20-day deadline under D.C. Code § 20-704.

First, publish notice of the appointment in a legal periodical or newspaper of general circulation in the District, once a week for two successive weeks, then file a certification with the Register specifying the date and content. The notice states your appointment and address, says whether administration is supervised or unsupervised, and tells creditors to present claims.

Second, mail the text of that first published notice, by registered or certified mail, to the decedent’s heirs and legatees and to every creditor whose identity is known or reasonably ascertainable through diligent effort. Reasonably ascertainable means you have to look. Reviewing mail, bank statements, and credit reports is part of the work, not an optional courtesy.

The publication date matters more than any other date in the administration, because the creditor period runs from it.

The Three-Month Inventory

D.C. Code § 20-711 requires a verified inventory of property owned by the decedent at death, prepared within three months of appointment. Each item must be listed, described in reasonable detail, valued at fair market value as of the date of death, and shown with any encumbrances.

Practically, this means securing and insuring property, opening an estate account, obtaining a taxpayer identification number for the estate, ordering appraisals for real property and anything of uncertain value, and collecting date-of-death statements for every account. Wearing apparel other than furs and jewelry, food for the family, family pictures, and family Bibles are excluded from the inventory.

Date-of-death values also establish the basis beneficiaries will use later, so accuracy here saves them money years from now.

Handling Creditor Claims

Under D.C. Code § 20-903, claims against the estate are barred unless presented within six months after the date of first publication of the notice of appointment.

Your task during that window is to review each claim, allow or disallow it, and notify the claimant. A claimant whose claim is disallowed has 60 days from the mailing of that notice to file a verified complaint, after which the disallowed portion is forever barred. Two claims survive the bar regardless: enforcement of a mortgage, judgment, or other perfected security interest, and a claim covered by the decedent’s liability insurance, though recovery there is limited to the policy proceeds.

Do not distribute before the period closes. Paying beneficiaries early and discovering a valid claim afterward can leave you personally responsible for the shortfall.

Taxes

Several returns may be due. The decedent’s final individual income tax returns cover the year of death. The estate files its own income tax returns for income earned during administration.

For the District estate tax, the Office of Tax and Revenue requires the return and payment within ten months of the date of death, filed electronically through MyTax.DC.gov. Certain federal Form 706 schedules must be prepared even where no federal return is required, which surprises representatives who assumed the large federal exemption ended the question. The thresholds are covered under estate taxes.

Accounting to the Court and to Beneficiaries

In a supervised administration, a first account is due within one year and one day after the first publication of notice, with further accounts following until the estate closes.

In an unsupervised administration the obligation shifts. The representative must account to interested persons at reasonable intervals or on reasonable demand, and can be compelled to account to the court if an interested person petitions. Keeping contemporaneous records of every receipt and disbursement makes both versions manageable and makes a challenge far less likely.

Distribution and Closing the Estate

Once claims and taxes are resolved, distribute according to the will or, absent one, the intestacy statutes. Obtain receipts from every beneficiary.

Under D.C. Code § 20-1301, approval of the final account automatically closes the estate and, if requested and approved, terminates your appointment. In an unsupervised administration where no Certificate of Completion is filed, the appointment terminates automatically three years after appointment, subject to twelve-month extensions the court grants on written request without limit on the number.

Personal Liability and When to Get Help

A personal representative is a fiduciary and can be surcharged for losses caused by a breach. Commingling estate funds with your own, distributing early, missing tax deadlines, and failing to secure property are the recurring problems.

Get help when the estate holds a business, when real property sits in another state and requires ancillary administration, when heirs or assets are located abroad, or when a will contest appears likely. Estates with foreign property or non-resident beneficiaries raise questions that international estate planning addresses directly, and the broader sequence is outlined under the probate process.

A Washington DC estate planning attorney can guide an administration or help you avoid putting your own family through one. Contact our office to schedule a consultation.

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