"Estate administration" refers to the procedure which must be followed when the estate of a person who has recently died is being distributed, either according to his or her wishes as laid out in a will, or the laws regulating the distribution of the assets of a person who dies without a will.

If the decedent (the person who died) left a will, the process of estate administration in Rensselaer Indiana will normally be carried out according to the instructions in the will.

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 typically has at least some work cut out for them. This evidently raises the issue of compensation. The easiest way to guarantee that the executor does his or her job is simply to appoint the person who has the most to gain from the will. That way, they cannot inherit until the process is finalized.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

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

Normally, the person chosen to be executor is the one who would benefit most under the will, or under Indiana's intestacy laws. "Intestacy" refers to a situation in which a person dies without a will, or "dies intestate." Every state has laws to address this situation, and there isn't a lot of variation from state to state. Normally, the decedent's property will go to his or her closest relative, and if absolutely no living relatives can be found, it will go to the state.

If no executor is named in the will, anyone with a share in the will can apply to the court in Rensselaer, Indiana to be the executor of the estate, if they wish.

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 Rensselaer, Indiana Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you find yourself named in a will as executor of an estate, and aren't sure how to meet your responsibilities, or where to begin, it would be a good idea to consult with an accomplished Rensselaer, Indiana lawyer who can help you navigate this sometimes-perplexing process.