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 Derby, Connecticut, the estate is usually administered in a way that follows the instructions the will lays out, as closely as possible.

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

The executor is normally whoever stands to acquire the most money or property if the will is given effect, since that is the person who likely has the most incentive to do their part in seeing that the probate process plays out to completion.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a Derby, Connecticut will does not assign anyone to serve as executor, or there is no will, the court has to choose someone to fill that role.

This is most commonly the person who stands to gain the most from the will, or who would inherit the most under Connecticut's intestacy laws. Intestacy is the system that every state has in order to deal with the property of people who die without a will. It normally distributes the property to the closest living relatives of the decedent, assuming they can be located.

If the will doesn't name anyone as executor, or the individual who was named as executor is no longer living or cannot be found, anyone who has a direct interest in the will in Derby, Connecticut can apply to the court to be the executor.

Once an executor is finally named, he or she becomes responsible for serving as the living embodiment of the estate, utilizing all legal means to protect the estate's interests (such as mounting plausible legal defenses against creditors).

Can a Derby, Connecticut Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you are the executor of an estate, and don't know how to handle some of the legal and financial intricacies that may arise, an accomplished Derby, Connecticut lawyer can make this process a great deal easier.