Relatives executor but no money in the estate

[Atethehalloweenchocs]

I have been told by someone else that my relative told them they have named me executor of their will (without asking me). This person lives in squalor, their house is full of stuff (I am assuming it still is, I have not been in for years as they dont like people coming it - even through the letterbox it stinks though. So clearing the house will be a massive, unpleasant job. And I very very much doubt there will be any money in the estate - I believe they have a reverse mortgage and there are no other assets I am aware of. I dont believe there will be anything to cover the cost of their funeral. If it turns out I am named as executor, am I liable for any costs? I dont have the money to cover their expenses.

You can refuse executorship. You do this by renouncing the role with a Deed of Renunciation, which must be drawn up by a lawyer. If you want to renounce your role, you should do it asap, and without doing anything at all connected to the estate - if there's something quick and urgent that really needs doing and you do that one thing it is then really difficult to renounce the role.

If the property is mortgaged the executor should check for a mortgage-linked life insurance policy which are usually required to pay off a mortgage when someone dies.

If the value of assets exceed the debts it is legitimate to use the remaining assets to pay the costs of clearing up the mess and the executor can also charge for their time and reasonable expenses. If the cost of clearing up the mess is likely exceed the net value of the assets then the property and contents can just be handed over to the mortgage lender

No need to go to the expense of employing a lawyer; downloading, completing and returning a PA15 is that needs to be done to renounce the role of executor - and not until the death occurs.