When a person dies, a process identified as "estate administration" must be carried out. This refers to all the procedures which must be followed in distributing a person's estate to their heirs or devisees.

If the decedent (the person who died) left a will, the process of estate administration in Erwin North Carolina will typically be carried out according to the instructions in the will.

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

The executor is typically whoever stands to obtain 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 will in Erwin, North Carolina is silent as to who should be the executor, it is up to the court to decide who should serve in that capacity.

Typically, this will be the person who has the most to acquire from the will, or who would gain the most under North Carolina'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 stake in the decedent's estate (either because they're named in the will or stand to inherit by intestacy) can petition an Erwin, North Carolina court to be appointed 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 protect the estate's interests as they would their own.

Can a Erwin, North Carolina 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 knowledgeable Erwin, North Carolina attorney, the process almost always goes pretty smoothly.