Estate administration, in basic terms, is the procedure of maintenance and distribution of a person's assets after they die.

If the decedent had the foresight to draft and execute a will in Montrose, Colorado, the estate is normally administered in a way that follows the instructions the will lays out, as closely as possible.

Most frequently, a will names a person to serve as executor, whose job it is to guarantee that the estate is properly administered.

The executor is frequently the person who will get the most money or property out of the will if it is given effect, because this is the person who will have the greatest incentive to see that the probate process goes as rapidly as possible.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a Montrose, Colorado will does not name an executor, or no will exists or can be found, it's up to the local court to determine who should be the executor.

Typically, this will be the person who has the most to acquire from the will, or who would gain the most under Colorado's intestacy scheme (the system that distributes the decedent's property to his or her closest living relatives, if he or she dies without a will).

When a will is silent as to who should be the executor, any individual who has some direct interest in the result can ask to be named executor by the Montrose, Colorado 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 safeguard the estate's interests as they would their own.

Can a Montrose, Colorado Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you are the administrator of an estate, and are not a legal and/or financial professional, you might confront legal or tax issues with which you are unfamiliar. A Montrose, Colorado attorney would be quite helpful in such a situation.