Executor
Also called: Executor of a will, Executrix
A person to whom the execution of the last Will of a deceased person is, by the testator's appointment, confided. Section 2(c) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Explained
Section 2(c) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines an executor as a person to whom the execution of the last Will of a deceased person is, by the testator's appointment, confided. The defining feature is appointment by the testator. An administrator under Section 2(a), by contrast, is a person appointed by a competent authority to administer the estate of a deceased person when there is no executor. Under Section 222 probate is granted only to an executor appointed by the will, and the appointment may be express or by necessary implication.
Under Section 211 the executor or administrator is the legal representative of the deceased for all purposes, and the property of the deceased vests in him as such, though under Section 211(2), where the deceased was a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina, Parsi or an exempted person, property that would pass by survivorship does not vest in him. Probate cannot be granted to a minor or a person of unsound mind (Section 223). Probate, once granted, establishes the will from the death of the testator and validates the executor's intermediate acts (Section 227), and may be revoked for just cause under Section 263.
The executor's powers and duties follow. Section 307 gives him power to dispose of the property vested in him. Section 317 requires him to exhibit an inventory within six months of the grant and an account within one year. Under Section 320 funeral expenses, death bed charges and the like are paid before all debts. Section 68 provides that being an executor does not disqualify a person as a witness to prove the execution of the will.
A recent change is often tested. Section 213, which required probate or letters of administration before a right as executor or legatee could be established in court in certain cases, has been omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 with effect from 20 December 2025. Examiners also ask about appointment by implication, the bar on minors, the order of payment from the estate, and the distinction between an executor and an administrator.
What the law says
(c) “executor” means a person to whom the execution of the last Will of a deceased person is, by the testator’s appointment, confided;
Section 2(c) defines executor and 2(a) defines administrator
(1) Probate shall be granted only to an executor appointed by the will.
(2) The appointment may be expressed or by necessary implication.
Illustrations
Probate only to an executor appointed by the will
(1) The executor or administrator, as the case may be, of a deceased person is his legal representative for all purposes, and all the property of the deceased person vests in- him as such.
(2) When the deceased was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Budhist, Sikh, [Jaina or Parsi] or an exempted person, nothing herein contained shall vest in an executor or administrator any property of the deceased person which would otherwise have passed by survivorship to some other person.
Executor as legal representative; vesting of property
Probate cannot be granted to any person who is a minor or is of unsound mind [nor to any association of individuals unless it is a company which satisfies the conditions prescribed by rules to be made [,by notification in the Official Gazette] by the [State Government] in this behalf].
Persons to whom probate cannot be granted
(1) An executor or administrator shall, within six months from the grant of probate or letters of administration, or within such further time as the Court which granted the probate or letters may appoint, exhibit in that Court an inventory containing a full and true estimate of all the property in possession, and all the credits, and also all the debts owing by any person to which the executor or administrator is entitled in that character; and shall in like manner, within one year from the grant or within such further time as the said Court may appoint, exhibit an account of the estate, showing the assets which have come to his hands and the manner in which they have been applied or disposed of.
(2) The High Court may prescribe the form in which an inventory or account under this section is to be exhibited.
(3) If an executor or administrator, on being required by the Court to exhibit an inventory or account under this section, intentionally omits to comply with the requisition, he shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
Executor's duty to file inventory and account
[Right as executor or legatee when established.] Omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (37 of 2025), s. 3 and Sch. II (w.e.f. 20-12-2025).
State Amendments
Karela.—
Records the omission of the probate requirement in 2025
Example
Illustration to Section 222: A wills that C be his executor if B will not. B is appointed executor by implication.
For the exam
- Executor is appointed by the testator (Section 2(c)); an administrator is appointed by a court (Section 2(a)).
- Probate is granted only to an executor appointed by the will, expressly or by implication (Section 222).
- Probate cannot be granted to a minor or a person of unsound mind (Section 223).
- Executor is the legal representative and the estate vests in him (Section 211).
- Section 213 was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, w.e.f. 20 December 2025.
76 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Family Law questions
Related terms
- WillThe legal declaration of a testator's intention about his property, which he desires to take effect after his death (Section 2(h) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925).
- ProbateThe copy of a will certified under the seal of a court of competent jurisdiction with a grant of administration to the estate of the testator (Section 2(f) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925).
- AdministratorA person appointed by competent authority to administer the estate of a deceased person when there is no executor. Section 2(a) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
- CodicilAn instrument made in relation to a will, explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions, and deemed to form part of the will (Section 2(b) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925).
- Legal representativeA person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, including anyone who intermeddles with the estate (Section 2(11) of the CPC). He is liable only to the extent of the estate that reaches him.
- HeirUnder Section 3(1)(f) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, any person, male or female, entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under the Act.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.