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

If the decedent wrote a will before his or her death in Mount Holly, New Jersey, the process will be carried out according to the directives included in the will, assuming they are legitimate and enforceable.

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

The executor generally has at least some work cut out for them. This obviously raises the issue of compensation. The easiest way to guarantee that the executor does his or her job is simply to appoint the person who has the most to gain from the will. That way, they cannot inherit until the process is done.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a Mount Holly, New Jersey will does not name an executor, or no will exists or can be found, it's up to the local court to determine who should be the executor.

Usually, this will be the person who has the most to gain from the will, or who would gain the most under New Jersey'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).

When a will is silent as to who should be the executor, any individual who has some direct interest in the result can ask to be named executor by the Mount Holly, New Jersey court.

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 Mount Holly, New Jersey 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 reputable Mount Holly, New Jersey wills and trusts attorney.