In Mahanoy City, 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 decide that it is legitimate.

In the probate process, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania probate court has various 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 decided to be valid, the court will distribute the property according to its clauses.

Typically, the executor of the estate is named in the will. However, if nobody is named as an executor, the probate court in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania will assign an administrator to serve the role as the executor. This is typically the closest adult relative of the decedent, or the person who stands to inherit the most.

The executor is the person who has to get the ball rolling on the probate process, and basically serves as a living personification of the decedent's estate. It is their job to defend the estate from debtors (if a legitimate defense for the debt exists, of course), and wind up any legal proceedings that the decedent might have been engaged in. If an executor needs to be appointed, a court typically chooses the person who will inherit the most if the will is given effect, since that person will have the most motivation to carry out the duties of the executor.

Duties of the Executor in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania

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

The executor also has to provide those with a direct interest in the will notice that the decedent has deceased, 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 challenging. 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.

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

How Can A Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

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