In Mason City, Iowa, probate is the process through which a Court decides if a will is valid or not.

As part of this procedure, the court in Mason City, Iowa has many important responsibilities. Most especially, it has to decide if the will is valid, and consider evidence that it is not (if any such evidence exists). The probate court then has to guarantee that the property is distributed in an orderly manner, as close to the terms of the will (assuming it is valid) as possible.

The executor of the estate is often named in the will. If not, the probate court in Mason City, Iowa will name will appoint a person to serve as executor. This is normally the person who stands to inherit the most under the will.

The executor is the individual who initiates probate proceedings. The person who stands to inherit the most from the will is normally appointed the executor, because they will have the most inducement to help the process go as quickly as possible, so they can get their inheritance.

Duties of the Executor in Mason City, Iowa

There are quite a few things that an executor is accountable for. At the outset, they are obligated to file the probate action with the appropriate court. No progress, let alone any final disposition of the estate, can be made until this happens.

Furthermore, it's the executor's job to notify all affected parties that the person who made the will has died. "Interested parties" are typically people who are named in the will, or who would inherit the estate if the decedent had died without a will.

There may be various people who are entitled to take under a testator's will, with which the testator may have fallout out of touch years ago. This can make them hard to find, but they need to be found, nonetheless. To that end, the executor is obligated to make a list of everyone who might be able to inherit, whether they're named in the will, or closely related to the testator. Furthermore, they have to make known all of the decedent's major assets and debts.

Additionally, the executor is obligated to take a leading role in showing the validity of the will. The executor obviously has an incentive to see the process through, since they cannot inherit until probate is complete.

How Can A Mason City, Iowa Lawyer Help?

Because this can be (though isn't always) a fairly intricate process, it's a good idea to get a seasoned probate lawyer in Mason City, Iowa, especially if you find yourself being the executor of an estate, and aren't sure how to proceed.