Estate Executor Checklist

What this guide covers

This guide is written as a practical reference for New Zealand families organizing private records before they become urgent. It focuses on the details that make a plan understandable to someone who may need to act quickly and carefully.

• Identify authoritative records and the people who can confirm them.
• Make financial accounts and obligations findable.
• Preserve privacy by preparing selective access instead of broad disclosure.

Document where the authoritative records are

The checklist should identify wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, insurance policies, property records, and the people who can confirm next steps.

• Legal document locations and advisor contacts
• Executor, trustee, and emergency contact names
• Copies or references for identity and property records

Make accounts and obligations visible

Executors need a way to find accounts, debts, subscriptions, taxes, benefits, and recurring payments without discovering them months later through missed mail or alerts.

• Banking, investment, retirement, and benefit records
• Mortgages, loans, credit cards, and recurring bills
• Digital accounts, devices, and recovery instructions

Prepare family context

Practical instructions can save time and reduce conflict. Funeral wishes, household notes, pet care, business continuity, and personal messages should be clearly marked as guidance.

• Urgent household and care instructions
• Funeral, memorial, and personal wishes
• Notes that explain what to do before deeper legal work begins

Keep sensitive access controlled

The checklist does not need to publish every private detail. It should name what exists, organize the proof, and make selective sharing possible with trusted people.

• Share sections by role
• Review recipients periodically
• Avoid emailing passwords or private documents

How this fits in Legacy Toolkit

Use this guide as a working checklist inside the desktop vault. Create or review the relevant profile sections, attach the documents that support each record, add reminders where information can go stale, and share only the sections a trusted person needs for their role.

The goal is not to turn a private life into a public folder. The goal is to keep the plan legible, current, and controlled so the right person can find the right information without receiving the whole vault by default.

• Profile sections keep the plan readable instead of turning it into a loose notes file.
• Document attachments keep proof beside the account, asset, policy, or instruction it supports.
• Trusted access lets you prepare a handoff without exposing the full vault by default.

Executor readiness list

Treat this as a first pass, not a final legal packet. Review the items, fill in what is missing, and return to the plan whenever a provider, account, advisor, family role, or document changes.

• Legal documents and advisor contacts.
• Financial accounts, debts, policies, and property records.
• Digital accounts and device-access instructions.
• Funeral, memorial, healthcare, and family wishes.
• Shared sections for executors, relatives, and advisors.