A co-administrator of an estate is a person appointed by the probate court to settle a deceased person’s estate jointly with one or more others. The duties are the same as a sole administrator’s — gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what’s left — but nearly every meaningful decision has to go through more than one person, and each co-administrator is personally on the hook not only for their own conduct but, in many situations, for the other’s mistakes too.
How Decisions Get Made With Another Administrator
This is the part of the job that catches people off guard. Under the version of probate law adopted by most states that follow the Uniform Probate Code, all co-administrators must agree on every action connected to the estate’s administration and distribution, unless the will says otherwise. One co-administrator can effectively veto a decision the others support. Some states have modified this default to require only a majority, so the specific rule depends on where the estate is being probated.
Three exceptions generally apply even in states that require unanimous agreement. A single co-administrator can act alone when receiving property owed to the estate, when an emergency demands immediate action to protect estate assets and there’s no time to get everyone’s agreement, or when the other co-administrators have formally delegated authority for a particular task. Third parties who deal with one co-administrator in good faith, not knowing another was appointed, are generally protected by the transaction.
When co-administrators genuinely can’t agree, the estate can grind to a halt. Any interested party, including a beneficiary or one of the co-administrators, can petition the probate court to break the deadlock. The court might order a specific action, mediate the dispute, or in extreme cases remove one or more co-administrators. Estates where the co-administrators have a strained personal relationship are where this plays out most often, and it’s expensive for everyone involved.
What You’re Responsible For
A co-administrator handles the same checklist any estate administrator would, with shared decision-making built into every step.
- Locating and inventorying assets: bank accounts, investments, real estate, vehicles, personal property, digital accounts, and life insurance. Most states require a formal inventory filed with the court within a few months of appointment.
- Notifying known creditors and publishing notice to unknown ones, then paying valid debts from estate funds before any distributions.
- Managing accounts. Joint accounts held with a surviving co-owner often pass automatically by right of survivorship and never enter probate. Accounts held as tenants in common become part of the estate.
- Securing and maintaining real property, keeping insurance current, paying property taxes, and, if there’s a rental, stepping into the landlord’s role.
- Getting professional appraisals for real estate, jewelry, art, collectibles, and business interests. Undervaluing can trigger IRS scrutiny; overvaluing inflates the tax bill.
- Distributing what remains to beneficiaries under the will or, if there’s no will, under state intestacy law.
Detailed record-keeping runs through all of it. Every transaction, every decision, every distribution needs to be documented. Many states require periodic accountings filed with the court. Sloppy records are one of the fastest ways to invite a beneficiary lawsuit or a court inquiry.
Liability for What Your Co-Administrator Does
Every co-administrator owes the estate two core fiduciary duties. The duty of loyalty means putting the estate’s interests first: no self-dealing, no steering business to friends for a kickback, no using estate funds for personal expenses. The duty of care means making informed, reasonable decisions, getting professional advice when needed, and not letting assets deteriorate through neglect. Falling short on either standard exposes a co-administrator to personal liability for the resulting losses.
The less obvious risk is liability for what the other co-administrator does. Courts have consistently held that co-administrators cannot simply defer to each other and check out. Each one has an affirmative duty to monitor the other’s conduct, review financial records, and take action if something looks wrong. A co-administrator who notices, or should have noticed, that the other is mishandling funds and does nothing about it can be held personally responsible for those losses. You accepted the appointment, so you accepted the obligation to protect the estate, including from your own co-administrator.
If you suspect the other co-administrator is acting improperly, the safest course is to raise the concern in writing, demand an accounting, and petition the probate court if the behavior doesn’t stop. Ignoring the problem or hoping it resolves itself is exactly the kind of passivity courts punish. The goal isn’t to micromanage every decision the other makes. It’s to stay informed enough that you’d catch a real problem before it becomes an irreversible loss.
Taxes and Deadlines You Can’t Miss
Tax compliance is one of the most consequential parts of the job, and the deadlines are unforgiving.
Notifying the IRS
Each co-administrator should file IRS Form 56 to formally notify the IRS of the fiduciary relationship. When multiple fiduciaries serve the same estate, each one files a separate Form 56.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 This filing, required under federal law, lets the co-administrator receive tax notices and act on the estate’s behalf with the IRS.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6903 – Notice of Fiduciary Relationship
Federal Estate Tax Return (Form 706)
The federal estate tax return is due nine months after the date of death.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6075 – Time for Filing Estate and Gift Tax Returns Co-administrators can request an automatic six-month extension by filing Form 4768, but the extension only covers filing. Estimated taxes are still due at the nine-month mark.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4768, Application for Extension of Time To File a Return and/or Pay U.S. Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Taxes
For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person, following an increase signed into law on July 4, 2025.5Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax Estates below that threshold generally don’t owe federal estate tax, though some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at much lower thresholds. The executor, which under federal law includes any appointed administrator, is personally liable for paying the estate tax.6eCFR. 26 CFR Part 20 – Estate Tax; Estates of Decedents Dying After August 16, 1954 That personal liability extends to situations where the administrator distributes estate assets before fully paying the tax.
Estate Income Tax Return (Form 1041)
Estates that earn $600 or more in gross income during the tax year must file Form 1041. For calendar-year estates, the deadline is April 15 of the following year.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 Rental income, interest, dividends, and continuing business income all count. One or more of the co-administrators signs the return as fiduciary.
The Deceased’s Final 1040
Co-administrators are also responsible for filing the deceased’s final individual income tax return for the year of death, covering income from January 1 through the date of death, on the normal April 15 deadline.
How Co-Administrators Get Paid
Co-administrators are generally entitled to compensation. Some states set statutory fee schedules, often calculated as a declining percentage of the estate’s total value. Others allow “reasonable compensation” as determined by the probate court, taking into account the estate’s size, the complexity of the work, and the time involved.
The important point is that co-administrators typically split the total fee a single administrator would have earned. They don’t each receive the full amount. An estate worth $500,000 that would pay one administrator a $15,000 fee doesn’t pay $15,000 to each of three co-administrators; they divide the $15,000, either equally or based on the work each performed, depending on state law and any agreement among them.
Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses like appraisal fees, attorney’s fees, accounting costs, postage, and travel directly related to estate business can be reimbursed from estate funds separately from the administrator’s fee.
Getting Appointed and Getting Out
Appointment starts with a petition filed in probate court, usually by a family member or someone named in the will. The court reviews each proposed co-administrator for suitability, looking at their relationship to the deceased, their ability to handle financial matters, and any conflicts of interest with the estate or beneficiaries. Most states require co-administrators to be at least 18 and free of felony convictions.
Courts in most jurisdictions require a surety bond that protects beneficiaries if the estate is mismanaged. The bond amount typically matches the estate’s value, and premiums generally run between 0.5% and 1% of the bond amount per year for someone with decent credit, climbing to 2–5% for applicants with credit problems. Some wills waive the bond requirement, and courts will sometimes honor that waiver, though not always, particularly when a co-administrator lives out of state. Nonresidents commonly face extra requirements: posting a bond even when the will waives it, appointing a local agent to accept legal papers, or serving alongside a resident co-administrator. A handful of states won’t let a nonresident serve at all without a resident co-administrator. Check the local probate court’s rules before committing.
Before taking office, each co-administrator takes an oath. The court then issues letters of administration, the document that gives co-administrators legal authority to act. Without those letters, no bank, title company, or government agency will deal with you.
A co-administrator who can’t or won’t do the job can be removed by the probate court for cause, which covers mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to file required accountings, refusal to cooperate with the other co-administrator, and incapacity. Any interested party can file the petition. Voluntary resignation requires a formal petition, typically with a final accounting showing exactly what happened to the estate’s assets during the resigning co-administrator’s tenure. When one co-administrator leaves, the remaining one can usually continue alone, though this depends on the will’s terms and local law, and the court may appoint a successor. A departing co-administrator’s liability doesn’t disappear with the resignation; they remain answerable for anything that happened on their watch.