What to Leave Behind to Make Life Easier for Your Executor

9 min read

Last reviewed: March 2026 (England & Wales)

Introduction

Many people spend time choosing the right executor, but far fewer make the job easy for that person afterwards.

That is a mistake.

Even a sensible, willing executor can lose time, money, and confidence if they cannot quickly find the original Will, identify the main assets, work out who to contact, or understand what practical wishes you had in mind.

The aim is not to leave behind more paper. It is to leave behind the right paper, in the right place, with the right people knowing where it is.

Start with the original Will

If your executors cannot find the original signed Will promptly, everything else becomes harder.

A copy may help them understand your wishes, but it is the original wet-ink Will that usually matters for probate. That is why secure storage is not an optional extra for many families. It is one of the simplest ways to reduce delay, confusion, and avoidable risk later.

At the very least, your executors should know:

where the original Will is stored
whether there are any codicils or later updates
who to contact to retrieve it
whether there is also a Letter of Wishes stored with it
where any LPAs, trust papers, title deeds, or related documents are kept

Professional storage often solves several problems at once. It protects the original document, provides a clear retrieval route, and reduces the risk of a family searching drawers, lofts, filing cabinets, and “safe places” at exactly the wrong time.

Do not make your executor build the jigsaw from scratch

A good executor should not have to become a detective.

The most helpful thing you can leave is a clear practical record of the information that matters most. That includes:

bank and building society accounts
savings, ISAs, pensions, and investments
life policies and death-in-service benefits
mortgage details and regular household bills
property ownership, insurers, utilities, and key reference numbers
accountants, financial advisers, solicitors, and other key contacts
subscriptions, memberships, and recurring payments
important personal items, family documents, and anything likely to be overlooked

This is exactly where structured planning helps. A few scattered notes are better than nothing, but a proper system is much easier for a family to follow under pressure.

Life & Legacy Logs make this easier

For many families, the most practical answer is not another notebook or an unlabelled folder. It is a structured written guide that brings the important information together in one place.

Fern Wills & LPAs’ Life & Legacy Logs are designed for exactly that purpose.

Depending on your situation, the most useful may include:

Property Log — to record ownership, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and practical property details
Finance Log — to record accounts, savings, pensions, investments, and key financial contacts
Passwords & Codes Appendix — to record important access information safely and separately
Executor Preparation Log — to guide executors on immediate steps and priorities
Memories & Stories Log — where personal guidance, messages, and family context matter as much as the legal paperwork

The point is not to create bureaucracy. It is to reduce stress, repeated questions, and missed information at a time when your family may already be overwhelmed.

Keep wishes and explanations in the right place

A Will is a legal document. It is not the best place for every personal explanation or practical instruction.

That is where a Letter of Wishes often helps.

A Letter of Wishes can be the right place to explain:

funeral or memorial preferences
reasons behind sensitive decisions
who should receive specific personal items
family background that would help your executors or trustees
practical preferences that do not belong in the Will itself
guidance that may need updating more often than the Will

Used properly, it gives your executors and family context, not just instructions.

Think carefully about digital access

Modern estates are not just made up of houses, bank accounts, and paper files.

There may also be:

email accounts
phones, tablets, and laptops
online banking and savings platforms
utility and subscription accounts
cloud photo storage
social media accounts
online businesses, domains, or monetised content

These can create real delay if nobody knows what exists or how to access it.

What matters is not just the password. It is knowing that the account exists, what it is for, and where to find the right access route.

Do not write passwords into the Will itself. Instead, keep digital access details in a secure supporting record, stored sensibly and known to the right people.

Property and household details matter more than people think

Executors are often left trying to solve very practical problems very quickly.

That may include:

finding keys, alarm codes, and meter locations
checking who insures the property
working out whether the home is empty and needs special insurer notification
locating car papers, logbooks, or safe keys
identifying pets, routines, carers, and emergency contacts
working out whether there are hidden regular payments or service contracts

This is one reason practical records are so valuable. They help your executor deal with the real-world job, not just the legal job.

Do not confuse attorneys with executors

Many families also muddle up LPAs and executors.

While you are alive, attorneys may be helping with decisions under a registered LPA. But when you die, that authority ends. From that point, the executors or other personal representatives take over.

That is another reason to keep your planning joined up. Wills, LPAs, secure storage, Letters of Wishes, and Life & Legacy Logs work best when they support one another rather than sitting in separate silos.

Keep it current

A perfect record from five years ago may now be misleading.

Review your practical records after major changes such as:

moving home
opening or closing accounts
changing executors or attorneys
marriage, divorce, separation, or bereavement
buying or selling property
retirement
serious illness or care changes

This does not usually mean redoing everything from scratch. It means keeping the information usable.

What good planning looks like

In practice, the strongest approach is usually:

a professionally drafted Will
the original stored securely and retrievable quickly
a clear Letter of Wishes where helpful
structured practical records for assets, liabilities, contacts, and digital access
at least one executor who knows where the key documents are
a realistic plan for Executor Support if the estate later becomes too technical, time-consuming, or stressful for the family to handle alone

That combination gives families the best chance of clarity, control, and fewer avoidable problems.

Next steps

Fern Wills & LPAs can help you put this in place in a joined-up way.