"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 Baldwin Kansas will usually be carried out according to the instructions in the will.

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

The executor is usually 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 Baldwin, Kansas 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 often the person who stands to gain the most from the will, or who would inherit the most under Kansas'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 usually 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 Baldwin, Kansas 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 Baldwin, Kansas Estate Administration Attorney Help?

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