Executor of Will NZ

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.

• This guide is not legal advice and does not explain every probate requirement.
• The practical job is to make documents, accounts, contacts, and instructions findable.
• Digital assets and devices should be part of the executor preparation record.

Give the executor a clear starting map

The map should identify where the will and related documents are stored, who can confirm next steps, and which family, legal, trustee, or provider contacts may matter. It is useful for searches like what does an executor of a will do NZ because it focuses on the practical handoff, not legal advice.

• Will location and related document references
• Executor, trustee, lawyer, provider, and advisor contacts
• Family contacts and immediate instructions

List accounts and obligations before they are missed

Executors often need to discover bank accounts, investments, property details, insurance policies, debts, subscriptions, tax references, benefits, and business records.

• Assets, debts, policies, property, and tax references
• Recurring payments, memberships, and subscriptions
• Provider names, account references, and review notes

Include digital assets and device access context

Digital records can be hard to find after someone dies. Keep account references, devices, backups, cloud storage, password manager notes, and digital asset instructions in the same controlled plan.

• Email, cloud storage, files, photos, and online services
• Devices, backups, recovery paths, and support contacts
• Instructions for preserving, closing, reviewing, or transferring records

Share by responsibility, not by panic

Preparing executor access does not mean exposing the whole vault. Share selected sections with the right trusted person and review that access as family roles change.

• Executor sections for legal, financial, document, and digital records
• Family sections for emergency and household information
• Advisor sections for the records tied to their role

Common New Zealand questions

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 preparation checklist

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.

• Record will location, legal document references, and advisor contacts.
• List assets, debts, policies, property, benefits, and tax records.
• Attach supporting documents to the records they explain.
• Document digital accounts, devices, backups, and recovery paths.
• Prepare trusted access for the executor without sharing the whole vault.

Official New Zealand references

These links are included for context. Legacy Toolkit helps organise records and does not replace legal, financial, tax, medical, or court advice.

• New Zealand Government: What to do when someone dies
• Ministry of Justice: Apply for probate and get copy of will