When a person dies, a process known 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 has made a will in Montgomery County, Ohio, the process will play out according to the instructions specified in the will.

Wills typically name an executor. The executor's role revolves around ensuring that the instructions in the will are implemented.

The executor is often 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 quickly as possible.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If the will in Montgomery County, Ohio does not name an executor, or the decedent left no will to be found, the court has to appoint a person to serve as the administrator of the estate.

Usually, this will be the person who has the most to gain from the will, or who would gain the most under Ohio'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 a Montgomery County, Ohio 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 Montgomery County, Ohio 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 good Montgomery County, Ohio attorney, the process almost always goes pretty smoothly.