An executor is the single person named in a will to settle someone’s estate; a co-executor is one of two or more people named to do that same job together. The practical difference between an executor and a co-executor is not what the role involves but how authority is held: a sole executor decides alone, while co-executors share power and, in most states, must agree before they act.
The Job Itself Is the Same
Whether one person is named or several, the work is identical. The executor files the will with the probate court in the county where the deceased lived. Once the court validates the will, it issues letters testamentary, the document that proves authority to deal with banks, title companies, and government agencies.1Legal Information Institute. Letters Testamentary Without those letters, nobody will release the deceased person’s assets.
From there, the executor inventories everything the deceased owned, notifies creditors, pays debts, and handles taxes. If the estate earns more than $600 in gross income during the tax year, the executor files Form 1041.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 After obligations are settled, whatever remains goes to the beneficiaries named in the will.
Throughout, the executor owes a fiduciary duty to the estate: act in the beneficiaries’ interests rather than their own, manage assets competently, treat beneficiaries fairly, and keep them informed. That duty applies the same way to a sole executor and to each co-executor.
Why Someone Would Name Co-Executors Instead
A testator usually names co-executors for one of two reasons. The first is combining strengths, for example pairing a family member who knows the household with an attorney or financial professional who understands tax filings and asset valuations. The second is fairness: naming adult children together to avoid the appearance of favoritism, even when one child would be the more practical sole choice.
Co-executors also create a built-in check. No single person controls the checkbook or decides which assets to sell. That accountability matters most in larger or more complex estates. The tradeoff is speed, because every decision that requires agreement takes longer when more than one person has to sign off.
How Co-Executors Have to Make Decisions
The will is the first place to look. Some wills say explicitly whether co-executors must act jointly, by majority vote, or independently. When the will is silent, the default rule in a majority of states, following the Uniform Probate Code, is that all co-executors must agree before taking any action connected with administering the estate.3Maine State Legislature. Title 18-C, 3-717: Corepresentatives; When Joint Action Required Selling a house, liquidating an investment account, making a distribution: all of it requires unanimous consent.
There are three recognized exceptions. A co-executor can act alone when receiving and receipting property owed to the estate, when another co-executor cannot be reached in an emergency that threatens estate assets, or when one co-executor has been formally delegated to act for the others. Outside those situations, a third party who deals with just one co-executor without knowing others were appointed is generally protected if a problem arises.
Some wills override the unanimity default. A “majority rule” clause lets a decision go forward when most co-executors agree, which keeps a single holdout from paralyzing the estate. A clause allowing co-executors to act “severally” gives each one independent authority, which is flexible but offers the least protection against unilateral mistakes.
Shared Liability Is the Risk Most People Miss
This is the part of co-executorship that catches people off guard. Co-executors share joint and several liability, meaning each one can be held fully responsible for losses caused by any of them. If one co-executor mismanages investments, drains an account, or distributes assets improperly, beneficiaries can sue any or all co-executors to recover the full amount lost.
Passivity is not a defense. A co-executor who stays out of day-to-day administration and lets the other handle it can still be liable when problems surface. Courts expect every co-executor to stay engaged, review financial transactions, and object when something looks wrong. Rubber-stamping decisions carries the same exposure as making the bad ones.
That exposure makes communication between co-executors a practical necessity. Document decisions in writing, require both signatures on major transactions, and keep clear records of who approved what. If you genuinely cannot work cooperatively with the person named alongside you, declining the appointment before the court formalizes it is the safer move.
When Co-Executors Disagree
Disputes between co-executors are common, especially when siblings serve together and bring older family dynamics into financial decisions. Minor disagreements about timing or priorities often resolve through direct conversation. When they don’t, check the will for a tie-breaking mechanism, such as a named third party who casts the deciding vote or one co-executor given final authority on certain categories of decisions.
If the will offers nothing, co-executors can petition the probate court for instructions on a specific issue. The court can authorize a particular transaction, order a co-executor to cooperate, or impose conditions on how the estate is managed. That process adds cost and delay, but it produces a binding answer.
In cases of serious misconduct, a co-executor or beneficiary can ask the court to remove one or all co-executors. Courts don’t do this lightly, but certain conduct makes removal much more likely:
- Self-dealing, such as buying estate property at a below-market price or directing estate business to a company the executor owns.
- Paying themselves or their attorney unreasonable compensation from the estate.
- Unjustified delay in moving the administration forward, which harms beneficiaries waiting for distributions.
Court intervention runs up attorney fees and adds months of delay, so the estate shrinks while the fight continues. Beneficiaries often bear the practical cost of co-executor conflict even when they aren’t directly involved in it.
How Pay Works With Co-Executors
Executors are generally entitled to compensation, typically a percentage of the estate’s value. Rates vary by state, with commission schedules commonly falling in the range of roughly 1% to 5% and the percentage decreasing as estate value increases. Some states set statutory fee schedules; others leave “reasonable compensation” to the court’s discretion.
When co-executors serve together, how they split that compensation depends on state law and the will. In some states, if the estate exceeds a certain value, each of two co-executors receives a full commission. If more than two are named, they typically share two full commissions unless the will says otherwise. In states without a specific co-executor provision, the total is usually what a single executor would receive, divided among them.
Executor fees are taxable as ordinary income on the recipient’s personal return for the year received.4Internal Revenue Service. Are the Fees I Receive as an Executor or Administrator of an Estate Taxable Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive their fees. When one co-executor wants to charge a fee and the other waives theirs, that disagreement itself becomes a common source of tension.
Probate Bonds Under a Co-Executor Setup
A probate bond is insurance that protects beneficiaries and creditors if an executor mishandles estate assets. The court can require it before issuing letters testamentary, with the premium tied to estate value and paid from the estate.
Many wills waive the bond requirement, and courts usually honor that waiver, especially when all adult beneficiaries agree. A judge still has the power to require a bond regardless, particularly when the estate is complex or the co-executors have a history of conflict. Having two people in the role cuts both ways here: the built-in oversight may reassure a court enough to waive the bond, but a strained relationship between co-executors may push the court toward requiring one. Either way, the bond’s cost comes out of the estate.
If You’ve Been Named and Don’t Want the Job
Being named as an executor or co-executor in a will does not obligate you to serve. If you haven’t taken any action on the estate yet, you can decline by signing a renunciation form and filing it with the probate court. The process usually requires only a notarized signature. Once you renounce, a surviving co-executor typically continues alone, or the court appoints a successor if the will names one.
Resigning after you’ve already been appointed is harder. You’ve accepted a fiduciary obligation at that point, and the court won’t simply release you. You’ll need to petition the court, show good cause, and demonstrate that your resignation serves the estate’s best interests. The court may also require a formal accounting of every financial transaction you handled while serving, which can take months if any beneficiary objects to your numbers.
If one co-executor dies during the administration, the surviving co-executor can usually continue, depending on the will’s terms and the court’s assessment. The court may review whether a replacement is needed, particularly if the estate is large or the surviving co-executor lacks skills the other provided.
If You’re Writing the Will
On paper, co-executors look like a sensible safeguard. In practice, the arrangement creates coordination work that can stretch probate out considerably. Every document that needs a signature needs both signatures. Banks and brokerage firms typically require all co-executor signatures on account documents, adding another layer of delay. And serving as co-executor with a sibling while grieving a parent puts strain on the relationship, especially when siblings disagree about what’s fair or what the deceased would have wanted.
Naming a sole executor with a named successor often produces faster, cheaper administration. If you do name co-executors, spell out in the will how decisions get made: whether they must act jointly, whether a majority is enough, whether either can act alone on routine matters, and who breaks a tie. The more the will addresses in advance, the less your co-executors have to fight about later.