"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 has made a will in Kentwood, Michigan, the process will play out according to the instructions stated in the will.

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

The executor is frequently the person who will get the most money or property out of the will if it is given effect, because this is the person who will have the greatest incentive to see that the probate process goes as rapidly as possible.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If the will in Kentwood, Michigan does not name an executor, or the decedent left no will to be found, the court has to assign a person to serve as the administrator of the estate.

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

In cases where the will doesn't name an executor, or the person named is unable to take on that role for whatever reason, any person who has some direct share in the decedent's estate (either because they're named in the will or stand to inherit by intestacy) can petition a Kentwood, Michigan court to be assigned 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 Kentwood, Michigan Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you have unexpectedly been appointed to be the executor of a relative's estate, and don't know how to handle this process, you should speak with a reliable Kentwood, Michigan wills and trusts attorney.