"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 had the foresight to draft and execute a will in Liberal, Kansas, the estate is normally administered in a way that follows the instructions the will lays out, as closely as possible.

Frequently, the will appoints an executor whose job it is to oversee the administration of the will.

The executor is typically 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 Liberal, 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.

Typically, this will be the person who has the most to acquire from the will, or who would gain the most under Kansas'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).

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 Liberal, Kansas can apply to the court to be the executor.

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 Liberal, Kansas Estate Administration Attorney Help?

Some people are surprised when they find out they've been named the executor of a relative's estate. The responsibilities can seem daunting, but with the help of a reliable Liberal, Kansas attorney, the process almost always goes pretty smoothly.