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

If the decedent wrote a will before his or her death in Douglas, Georgia, the process will be carried out according to the directives included in the will, assuming they are legitimate and enforceable.

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 typically the person who stands to inherit the most money or property from the will, since this individualn 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 Douglas, Georgia 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.

This is most frequently the person who stands to gain the most from the will, or who would inherit the most under Georgia'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 typically 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 Douglas, Georgia 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 Douglas, Georgia 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 difficulties that may arise, an efficient Douglas, Georgia lawyer can make this process a great deal easier.