Bound Brook, New Jersey has a legal process known as "probate." This is when a court determines whether or not a will is legitimate, and, accordingly, whether or not to effectuate its provisions.

In the probate process, a Bound Brook, New Jersey probate court has many duties, including ruling on a will's validity, making an inventory of the estate's assets, and making note of all the decedent's debts. Once the will is decided to be valid, the court will distribute the property according to its clauses.

Wills commonly name a person as the executor of the estate. If not, the court in Bound Brook, New Jersey will name one. This is most often the adult individual who stands to inherit the most funds or property from the will.

Because the executor is responsible for really initiating probate proceedings and seeing them to finalization, the person chosen for this role is often the one who stands to inherit the most from the will - giving them an incentive to put in the necessary time and effort.

Duties of the Executor in Bound Brook, New Jersey

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.

Furthermore, it's the executor's job to notify all concerned parties that the person who made the will has died. "Interested parties" are typically people who are named in the will, or who would inherit the estate if the decedent had died without a will.

The executor will also have to gather and make accessible a list of all of the decedent's debts and assets, as well as a list of those who stand to inherit from the decedent.

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 Bound Brook, New Jersey Lawyer Help?

Because this can be (though isn't always) a fairly intricate process, it's a good idea to get a seasoned probate lawyer in Bound Brook, New Jersey, especially if you find yourself being the executor of an estate, and aren't sure how to proceed.