In Beaver County, Pennsylvania, probate is a legal procedure that a court must go through before giving effect to a will. Before putting a will into effect, a court has to determine that it is valid.

During probate, the court in Beaver County, Pennsylvania will determine the validity of the will, distinguish and inventory the decedent's assets, account for the decedent's debts and back taxes, and distribute the decedent's property, among other things.

Wills frequently name a person as the executor of the estate. If not, the court in Beaver County, Pennsylvania will name one. This is most often the adult individual who stands to inherit the most money or property from the will.

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

Duties of the Executor in Beaver County, Pennsylvania

The executor has many duties concerning the will. First, they have to truly initiate the probate proceedings, which must be finished before the will is effectuated.

Additionally, the executor has to make sure that the decedent's relatives and other people named in the will have notice of the testator's death, typically through the filing of a copy of the official death certificate.

Because people who stand to inherit from the testator may be scattered around the country, or even the world, contacting them is sometimes difficult. One of the responsibilities of the executor is to collect a list of everyone who is entitled to inherit from the decedent, so attempts to contact them can be made. They additionally have to account for all the testator's debts and assets.

Because the executor serves as the living symbol of the decedent's estate, they are solely responsible for proving the validity of the will. This is a lot of work, but because executors are typically 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 completion.

How Can A Beaver County, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

Because of the difficulties involved in probate, it would be smart to hire a knowledgeable Beaver County, Pennsylvania probate lawyer, especially if you are the executor of an estate and unsure how to proceed.