In Greenville, 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.

In the probate process, a Greenville, Pennsylvania probate court has many duties, including ruling on a will's validity, making an inventory of the estate's assets, and making note of all the decedent's debts. Once the will is determined to be valid, the court will distribute the property according to its terms.

Normally, the executor of the estate is named in the will. However, if nobody is named as an executor, the probate court in Greenville, Pennsylvania will appoint an administrator to serve the role as the executor. This is normally the closest adult relative of the decedent, or the person who stands to inherit the most.

The main duty of the executor is to serve as the living incarnation of the estate. Their job is to initiate probate proceedings, and see them to completion. If an executor has to be appointed by the court, it will normally be the person who stands to inherit the most from the will, as he or she has an incentive to make every effort to avoid delay.

Duties of the Executor in Greenville, Pennsylvania

The executor has many duties concerning the will. First of all, they have to actually initiate the probate proceedings with the court, and this procedure has to be completed before the will takes effect.

The executor also has to give those with a direct interest in the will notice that the decedent has died, by filing an 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 gather a list of everyone who is entitled to inherit from the decedent, so attempts to contact them can be made. They further have to account for all the testator's debts and assets.

Finally, executors have to actually put forth the effort to show that a will is valid. As the sole legal representative of the estate, this is their job, and is required for them to inherit, giving them an incentive.

How Can A Greenville, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

Because this process can be fairly convoluted, it is not a bad idea to consult with a brilliant probate lawyer in Greenville, Pennsylvania, especially if you find yourself as the executor of an estate and don't know how to proceed.