Executors are usually paid. Almost no one knows it.

If someone has named you executor, you’ve been handed a job. Not a symbolic one — an actual job, with hours, phone calls, deadlines, and paperwork. Here’s something most people never learn until they’re deep in it: that work is usually compensated.

It’s a role, not just an honor

We tend to think of “executor” as a mark of trust, and it is. But it’s also a set of responsibilities that can stretch over months: notifying institutions, tracking down accounts, filing what needs filing, keeping other family members informed. The law in most places recognizes that this is labor, and provides for the executor to be paid from the estate for their time.

Why this matters

Two reasons.

First, relief. If you’re worried about the time this is going to take, it helps to know you’re not expected to simply absorb all of it as a gift.

Second, clarity. Knowing compensation exists lets you have an honest, unresentful conversation with the rest of the family about what the work involves — before anyone feels taken advantage of.

What to actually do

The specifics — how much, how it’s calculated, whether you’d rather waive it — depend on where you are and what the will says. Those are good questions to bring to the estate’s attorney. This isn’t legal advice; it’s a nudge to ask the question instead of assuming the answer is no.

If you’re staring down this role and not sure where to begin, that’s exactly the kind of thing we help with.