Professional Executors

A professional executor is appointed in a Will to administer the estate in place of (or alongside) family members. Their job is to administer the estate in accordance with the Will and the law, to keep proper records, and to take that burden off a grieving family. Squiggle can be appointed in your Will to take on this role.

Acting only in your family's interests

A professional executor has a "fiduciary duty" (a legal obligation to act solely in the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries). That means managing assets prudently, transparently and fairly, with no personal gain beyond the agreed fee. Every decision must be capable of standing up to scrutiny from beneficiaries, from HMRC and, if it ever came to it, from a court.

What a professional executor takes care of

Asset collection and management. Identifying and gathering every asset: bank accounts, property, investments, pensions and personal belongings, and safeguarding them throughout the administration. That includes practical matters families often overlook, such as insuring an empty property and securing valuables.

Debt settlement. Identifying and paying the person's debts, taxes and other liabilities before anything is distributed, including placing statutory notices so unknown creditors come forward at the right time.

Legal and tax compliance. All the formal paperwork: reporting the estate to HMRC, dealing with Inheritance Tax and income tax, and arranging the Grant of Probate.

Distribution. Passing the estate to beneficiaries precisely as the Will instructs (or under the intestacy rules if there is no valid Will), with proper estate accounts and signed receipts at the end.

Staying impartial when families disagree

Where beneficiaries disagree, or someone challenges the Will, a professional executor remains impartial, keeps communication clear, and acts to the standards the court expects of anyone in the role. An independent professional often defuses family tension precisely because they have no personal stake in the outcome. If a dispute becomes a legal claim, the professional executor's job is to make sure specialist contentious probate solicitors are instructed promptly and the estate's interests are properly protected.

You do not have to do all of this yourself

Squiggle can take on as much or as little of the estate administration as you wish, from arranging the Grant of Probate to handling everything end to end, while you focus on your family. Book a call with a consultant or call 01233 659 796.

Keeping beneficiaries informed

Regular updates are built into how Squiggle works: beneficiaries are kept informed about progress, realistic timescales, and anything that could affect their distribution. Most frustrations with family-run estates come down to silence. Our aim is that you always know where things stand.

Specialist expertise

More estates now include something awkward: a business, a trust, several properties, digital assets, or a pension (unused pension funds come within Inheritance Tax for deaths on or after 6 April 2027). A professional executor deals with these every week. A grieving son or daughter is meeting them for the first time.

A worked example

Imagine Brian, a widower with two adult children who do not get on. His estate includes his home, a buy-to-let flat, an investment portfolio and a small consultancy business. Brian worries that asking one child to be executor would inflame the relationship with the other, and that neither has the time or knowledge to deal with the business and the tax position.

Brian appoints a professional executor in his Will. On his death, the estate is administered by people who do it every day: the business is valued and wound down in good order, the tax reporting is handled correctly, both children receive the same clear updates at the same time, and neither has to take on legal responsibility, or the blame, for any of it.

This is a hypothetical example for illustration only.

How fees work

Unlike family executors, professional executors are paid for their work. Because every estate is different, and values change between the date a Will is signed and the date it falls to be administered, the fee is assessed on the size and complexity of the estate at the time the work is done.

What that means in practice:

• You are given the basis of charge in writing before the appointment goes into your Will, and your executors and beneficiaries are given a written estimate before any work starts.
• The fee is paid by the estate, not by your family personally.
• Nothing obliges your family to use us. Our appointment can be renounced if they would rather deal with the estate themselves, provided we have not already started to act.
• Ask us how our charges compare with a bank's or a solicitor's percentage. We would far rather you asked now than your family found out later.

Squiggle Consult is an estate planning consultancy, not a firm of solicitors. Where an estate needs legal representation, for example in a contested claim, we instruct specialist solicitors on the estate's behalf.

Common mistakes

Appointing a sole elderly executor. Naming only a spouse or a contemporary risks your executor being unable to act when the time comes. A professional appointment does not age with you, and does not fall away when a family member's circumstances change.

Appointing children jointly "to be fair". If they disagree, the administration can stall completely. Fairness in the Will does not require sharing the executor role.

Assuming the bank or a large institution is the cheapest professional option. Institutional executors can charge significant percentages. Always compare how fees are calculated before deciding.

Not telling anyone. Whoever you appoint, make sure your family knows who the executor is and where the Will is kept.

Is a professional executor right for you?

Consider one if your estate involves a business, multiple properties or trusts; if family relationships are strained; if your chosen executors live abroad or are elderly; or simply if you would rather your loved ones grieve without paperwork. Appointing a professional executor is a simple clause in your Will: we can include it when we prepare your Will, or update an existing one.

One question worth asking, and worth asking of anyone you are considering: what happens if the firm stops trading, or is sold? Our appointment clause provides for a successor, so your estate is never left without an executor. Ask us to show you the wording.

Worried a Will does not provide for you, or facing a dispute?

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Questions? Book a free call

Pick a time that suits you and your local Squiggle consultant will call you. No charge, no obligation. Book a call or call 01233 659 796.

Talk to Squiggle: 01233 659 796 | hello@squiggleconsult.co.uk | www.squiggleconsult.co.uk | Book a free call: meet.squiggleconsult.co.uk

This factsheet is general information for England and Wales, not legal, tax or financial advice. Last reviewed: August 2026.