Medina County, Ohio has a legal process known as "probate." This is when a court determines whether or not a will is valid, and, accordingly, whether or not to effectuate its provisions.

As part of this procedure, the court in Medina County, Ohio has many important responsibilities. Most especially, it has to decide if the will is valid, and consider evidence that it is not (if any such evidence exists). The probate court then has to guarantee that the property is distributed in an orderly manner, as close to the terms of the will (assuming it is valid) as possible.

Wills normally name the person who is to serve as executor of the estate. If no executor is named, the Medina County, Ohio court will appoint an executor. This is normally the person who stands to gain the most if the will is found to be legitimate.

The executor is the person accountable for initiating the probate proceedings. The person who would inherit the most from the will is appointed, because they have the greatest incentive to move the process along as quickly as possible, so they can get their inheritance.

Duties of the Executor in Medina County, Ohio

The executor has many duties regarding the will. First, they have to really initiate the probate proceedings, which must be finalized 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 various 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.

Additionally, the executor is obligated to take a leading role in showing the validity of the will. The executor obviously has an incentive to see the process through, since they cannot inherit until probate is complete.

How Can A Medina County, Ohio Lawyer Help?

Because of the intricacies inherent in the probate process, it is a good idea to hire an accomplished Medina County, Ohio probate lawyer, particularly for the executors of estates.