What is an executor? What is an administrator? These are both terms that refer to a fiduciary, a person who has an obligation to another. Specifically, an executor is the person in charge of an estate where a person has died with a will. An administrator is the person in charge of an estate where a person has died without a will. A good way to think about this is that the executor and the administrator are like the CEO of a company, except they are the CEO of an estate. They are in charge, but they can't do whatever they want; they have an obligation to the beneficiaries, just like a CEO has an obligation to the shareholders.