What happens to a deadlock between co-executors if one of them dies before it's resolved?

In most cases, the deadlock effectively resolves itself in a practical sense: where a will names more than one executor and doesn't say the role must always be shared, the surviving executor generally continues to have full authority to administer the estate alone once the other named co-executor has died. The office of executor typically passes to the survivor rather than disappearing along with the deceased co-executor.

This means the specific disagreement that caused the deadlock may become moot once only one executor remains to make the call, though the surviving executor still has to properly account for everything that happened while both were acting, including whatever was left unresolved. If the will's wording is unusual — for example, if it required something that genuinely can't be done with only one executor left — that specific situation would need its own careful look rather than assuming the general rule applies automatically.

Anyone in this situation, especially where beneficiaries were already unhappy about how the deadlock was being handled, should get advice on whether anything from the deadlock period itself still needs to be addressed even after one trustee's death simplifies who's now in charge.