When a person dies, a process recognized as "estate administration" must be carried out. This refers to all the procedures which must be followed in distributing a person's estate to their heirs or devisees.

If the decedent wrote a will before his or her death in Farmington, New Mexico, the process will be carried out according to the directives contained in the will, assuming they are valid and enforceable.

The decedent normally names in the will an executor of his or her estate. The executor is the person whose job it is to take the lead role in the administration of an estate.

The executor is normally the person who stands to inherit the most money or property from the will, since this personn will have the greatest incentive to see the probate and administration process to completion.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a will in Farmington, New Mexico is silent as to who should be the executor, it is up to the court to decide who should serve in that capacity.

This is most commonly the person who would inherit most under the will, or under the intestacy scheme of New Mexico. Intestacy is when a person dies without having made a will, or if a will turns out to be invalid. The intestacy laws of each state govern how property is distributed in such a situation. In most states, it simply goes to the closest living relative.

When a will is silent as to who should be the executor, any person who has some direct interest in the outcome can ask to be named executor by the Farmington, New Mexico court.

When the executor is chosen, they serve as a sort of incarnation of the decedent's estate - the estate's legal interests become the executor's interests, and the executor is expected to protect the estate's interests as they would their own.

Can a Farmington, New Mexico Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you have unexpectedly been appointed to be the executor of a relative's estate, and don't know how to handle this process, you should speak with a brilliant Farmington, New Mexico wills and trusts attorney.