In Ashland, Kentucky, probate is the procedure in which a court validates or voids a will.

As part of this procedure, the Ashland, Kentucky probate court will decide the validity of the will, inventory the decedent's assets and debts, and then, lastly, distribute the estate according to the will, assuming it is deemed to be valid.

Normally, the executor of the estate is named in the will. However, if nobody is named as an executor, the probate court in Ashland, Kentucky will assign an administrator to serve the role as the executor. This is normally the closest adult relative of the decedent, or the person who stands to inherit the most.

The executor is the person who has to get the ball rolling on the probate process, and basically serves as a living personification of the decedent's estate. It is their job to defend the estate from debtors (if a legitimate defense for the debt exists, of course), and wind up any legal proceedings that the decedent might have been immersed in. If an executor needs to be appointed, a court normally chooses the person who will inherit the most if the will is given effect, since that person will have the most incitement to carry out the duties of the executor.

Duties of the Executor in Ashland, Kentucky

The executor has many duties regarding the will. First, they have to really initiate the probate proceedings, which must be done before the will is effectuated.

They further are obligated to provide notice to the people with a direct interest in the estate that the decedent has died, normally by filing a death certificate.

There may be numerous people who are entitled to take under a testator's will, with which the testator may have fallout out of touch years ago. This can make them hard to find, but they need to be found, nonetheless. To that end, the executor is obligated to make a list of everyone who might be able to inherit, whether they're named in the will, or closely related to the testator. Furthermore, they have to make known all of the decedent's major assets and debts.

Because the executor serves as the living personification of the decedent's estate, they are solely accountable for proving the validity of the will. This is a lot of work, but because executors are normally chosen based on how much they stand to inherit from a will once its validity is confirmed, they have a good incentive to see the process to finalization.

How Can A Ashland, Kentucky Lawyer Help?

Because of the intricacies involved in probate, it would be smart to hire a seasoned Ashland, Kentucky probate lawyer, especially if you are the executor of an estate and unsure how to proceed.