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 typically 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 person who died made and executed a valid will in Goose Creek, South Carolina, the process of estate administration typically follows the procedures and instructions laid out in the will.

Most frequently, a will names a person to serve as executor, whose job it is to guarantee that the estate is properly administered.

The executor is typically whoever stands to acquire the most money or property if the will is given effect, since that is the person who likely has the most incentive to do their part in seeing that the probate process plays out to completion.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a will in Goose Creek, South Carolina is silent as to who should be the executor, it is up to the court to determine who should serve in that capacity.

Typically, this will be the person who has the most to acquire from the will, or who would gain the most under South Carolina'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 Goose Creek, South Carolina court.

Whoever is assigned to serve as executor, it is their job to act as the representative of the estate. Among other jobs, they have to account for the decedent's debts and assets, and inform any beneficiaries who might be unaware of the situation.

Can a Goose Creek, South Carolina Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you are the administrator of an estate, and are not a legal and/or financial professional, you might confront legal or tax issues with which you are unfamiliar. A Goose Creek, South Carolina attorney would be quite helpful in such a situation.