Estate & probate
Executor
An executor is the person appointed to administer an estate through probate: collecting the assets, paying the debts and taxes, and distributing what remains according to the will.
Also called personal representative · administrator
The role is a legal duty rather than an honor. An executor answers to the court and to the beneficiaries, has to account for what they do, and can be held personally responsible for getting it wrong. In Ohio the appointment is made by the probate court in the county where the person lived.
The practical question when choosing one is not who deserves it. It is who can do administrative work under emotional pressure, who the family will accept, and who is likely to still be capable when the time comes.
What it does not do
Naming an executor does not give them any authority while you are alive. That requires a power of attorney, which is a completely separate document. And an executor cannot find what they do not know about: an estate nobody can locate is an estate that takes far longer and costs far more to settle.
This entry is a general explanation, not advice for your situation, and it deliberately avoids thresholds and figures, because those are the part most likely to be out of date. Reviewed August 27, 2026. If a decision turns on any of it, ring the office rather than relying on a page.
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From definition to your situation
Whether this applies to you is a different question.
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