Estate administration is the procedure during which the estate of a person who has recently died is maintained and divided among his or her heirs or beneficiaries. This normally happens according to the instructions in a will, but in case there is no will, there are laws regulating that situation, as well.

If the decedent (the person who died) left a will, the process of estate administration in Tipp City Ohio will normally be carried out according to the instructions in the will.

The decedent normally names in the will an executor of his or her estate. The executor is the person whose job it is to take the lead role in the administration of an estate.

The executor typically has at least some work cut out for them. This evidently 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 finalized.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

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

Normally, this will be the person who has the most to receive 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).

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 Tipp City, Ohio 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 Tipp City, Ohio Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you are the administrator of an estate, and are not a legal and/or financial professional, you might face legal or tax issues with which you are unfamiliar. A Tipp City, Ohio attorney would be extremely helpful in such a situation.