Executor checklist and confirmation organiser (Scotland)
For executors in Scotland: registering the death, confirmation, debts, tax and sharing out the estate, on A4. Here is a practical way to organise the estate paperwork so you, the other executors, the beneficiaries and anyone advising you can find everything quickly.
Checked against official sources on 3 November 2026.
The quick version
- Keep every estate paper in one binder, split into the sections below.
- Write down every date and deadline as it is set.
- Record every payment into and out of the estate as it happens.
- Keep a list of everyone you have told, with their reference numbers.
The first few weeks
- Register the death within 8 days where possible and keep the certificate
- Ask the registrar for a Tell Us Once reference number
- Tell close family, the employer and the GP or care home
- Tell banks, insurers and pension providers
- Keep keys, post and small valuables somewhere safe
- Ask the home insurer to confirm cover is still in force
- Return any Blue Badge to the council
- Check the GOV.UK guidance on the passport and driving licence
- Look for the original will and ask which solicitor holds it
- Gather bank statements, pension papers and insurance policies
- Gather tax letters and the National Insurance number
- Note any funeral plan or written funeral wishes
- Ask banks for balances at the date of death
- Keep every receipt for funeral and estate costs
- Open a separate estate account once you can, so every payment is recorded
- Don't share out money until you have confirmation and have checked for debts
Documents to gather
Gather these before you value the estate or meet the sheriff clerk or your solicitor. Tick each one off as you find it.
- Full name, date of birth and last address
- Certificate of registration and abbreviated death entry
- Original death certificate
- Birth and marriage or civil partnership certificates
- NHS medical card and National Insurance number
- Original will, or an extract of it
- Details of the solicitor who holds or wrote the will
- Funeral plan, invoice and receipts
- Any written wishes or letters left behind
- Bank and building society statements, with interest to date of death
- Savings and ISA statements
- Share certificates and investment statements
- Life insurance policies
- Joint accounts and who the other holder is
- Title deeds or Registers of Scotland details
- How each property was owned (alone or jointly)
- Mortgage statements
- Valuation of the home and any other property
- Valuations of vehicles, jewellery and valuables
- State Pension and benefit letters
- Workplace and private pension statements
- Proof of any pension or government payment received
- Payslips or final pay from the employer
- Credit card and store card statements
- Loan and finance agreements
- Council tax, utility and phone bills
- Mortgage or rent arrears letters
- Money owed to the person
- HMRC letters and tax reference
- Recent tax returns and P60s
- Records of gifts made in the last seven years
- Inheritance Tax reference number, if issued
- Small estate checklist from the sheriff clerk
- Form C1 and IHT400, for larger estates
- Photo ID and proof of address for the executor
- Business accounts and details of any trusts
- Property or accounts abroad, if any
Dates and deadlines to track
- Date of death
- Death registered (8 days where possible)
- Will located (or no will)
- Estate valued, inventory prepared
- Confirmation applied for
- Confirmation issued
- Inheritance Tax paid by (end of month 6)
- Earliest date to share out (6 months)
Use the exact dates on the letters, forms and notices you receive.
How to section your binder
What this binder is for
Case Ready is a document organisation tool for executors and administrators. This edition is designed with reference to estate administration and confirmation in Scotland, using Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, mygov.scot and HMRC guidance.
- Keep the estate paperwork in one place
- Track deadlines and who you have told
- Keep clear accounts for the beneficiaries
What this binder is not
Case Ready:
- Does not provide legal or tax advice
- Does not value assets or work out tax
- Does not replace the instructions of the registry or court
If you need advice, speak to a solicitor (the Law Society of Scotland can point you to one), Citizens Advice Scotland or the sheriff clerk for small estates.
The first few weeks
Register the death within 8 days where possible. You can use any registration office in Scotland. Then tell government and everyone else.
- A Medical Certificate of Cause of Death is needed to register.
- An executor, relative, someone present at the death or the solicitor can register.
- You get a certificate of registration for the funeral director and an abbreviated copy of the entry, both free.
- Tell Us Once covers Scotland, and the registrar can give you a reference number to use.
- Use Tell Us Once within 28 days of getting the reference number.
- You still tell banks, insurers, utilities and other private organisations yourself.
Deaths referred to the procurator fiscal can take longer to register.
How confirmation works here
In Scotland the legal authority to deal with an estate is called confirmation. It is applied for at the sheriff court and lets the executor collect the money and property and share it out.
- Value the estate: list the money, property and belongings at the date of death.
- Check for a will. Without one, the sheriff court can appoint an executor-dative.
- Prepare the inventory. Confirmation is possible only if at least one item is in Scotland.
- Estates of £36,000 or less count as small, and the sheriff clerk can help. The court can't help with larger ones.
- Apply to the sheriff court. Confirmation lets you collect from banks and others.
- Pay debts and tax, then share out the estate.
- Keep accounts of everything that came in and went out.
Check the current small estate limit on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website.
When you may not need confirmation
For smaller estates, confirmation is needed only if a bank or other holder asks for it. There is no official figure for this, so ask each one.
- The 2016 Scottish Government guide: confirmation is needed only if a fund holder, such as a bank, asks.
- Ask each bank how it treats joint accounts.
- Confirmation is possible only if the estate includes at least one item of property in Scotland.
Ask each bank what it will accept before you decide to apply.
Small and large estates
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service treats an estate of £36,000 or less as small. Debts are not deducted when you work this out.
- Small estate: the sheriff clerk can help prepare the inventory and forms. Make an appointment.
- If a solicitor prepares a small estate inventory instead, a bond of caution is needed before confirmation.
- Without a will, a small estate may also need a bond of caution.
- Large estate: the court service can't help. Legal advice is strongly recommended.
- Large estates use form C1, which the court and HMRC both use. Forms are on the HMRC website.
- The executor is responsible for mistakes, and putting them right can be costly.
If you find an item left off the inventory, a corrective inventory (form C4(S)) can be lodged.
Tax
Inheritance Tax is due only in some cases, but forms may still be needed even when no tax is due. This organiser doesn't calculate tax.
- Larger estates use form C1 and IHT400. For deaths from 1 January 2022 the older C5 form is no longer needed.
- Pay Inheritance Tax by the end of the sixth month after death to avoid interest.
- HMRC will tell you whether the person needs a final tax return.
- The estate may need to register with HMRC if it earns income or gains after death. Check GOV.UK for the current rules.
For anything unclear, call HMRC or ask a solicitor or accountant.
Terms used in this organiser
- Executor: deals with the estate. Executor-dative: appointed by the sheriff court when there is no will or executor.
- Confirmation: the court's authority to collect and share out the estate. Similar to probate elsewhere.
- Inventory: the list of the person's property at death. Estate: everything owned and owed.
- Bond of caution: an insurance guarantee the executor will act correctly. Needed in some cases.
- Legal rights: claims a spouse, civil partner or child can make against the estate.
- Intestate: dying without a valid will. Prior rights and legal rights come before the rest.
- Beneficiary: someone who inherits.
Without a will, prior rights and legal rights are dealt with before the rest. A solicitor can explain how they apply.
Who this is for and where to get help
Anyone dealing with an estate in Scotland. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland have different rules, so use their editions.
- Legal help is advised for property or land, large estates, family disputes or foreign assets.
- Citizens Advice Scotland has free guidance on dealing with the affairs of someone who has died.
- The sheriff clerk helps with small estates. Staff can't give legal advice.
- Cruse Scotland: 0808 802 6161, for bereaved adults, children and young people.
- Samaritans: 116 123, free, any time.
- Take your time. A solicitor can take on some or all of the work.
Phone numbers are as listed by mygov.scot. Check that site if you can't get through.
Before you apply for confirmation
- Original will found, or confirmed there is no will
- Death registered and certificate of registration kept
- Each bank asked whether it needs confirmation
- Estate valued and inventory drafted
- Small or large estate decided (£36,000 or less is small)
- Original death certificate and photo ID ready
- Bond of caution arranged, if one is needed
- Legal advice sought if the estate is large or complex
- Executor's Log up to date
Save time with Case Ready
Case Ready is a printable, fillable executor binder for Scotland: first weeks checklist, assets, debts and estate account pages, a list of organisations to tell and an estate accounts workbook for Excel and Google Sheets, with the estate details on every page. Type into it on screen or print it at home.
This binder is a general organisational aid. The process varies by country, state and estate. You are responsible for following the rules and instructions that apply to the estate you are dealing with. Nothing in this binder is legal or tax advice.