In Mullins, South Carolina, 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.

As part of this process, the Mullins, South Carolina probate court will determine the validity of the will, inventory the decedent's assets and debts, and then, finally, distribute the estate according to the will, assuming it is found to be valid.

Normally, the executor of the estate is named in the will. However, if nobody is named as an executor, the probate court in Mullins, South Carolina 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 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 reason to move the process along as quickly as possible, so they can get their inheritance.

Duties of the Executor in Mullins, South Carolina

The executor has many duties concerning the will. First, they have to really 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, normally 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 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.

Additionally, the executor is obligated to take a leading role in showing the validity of the will. The executor obviously has an incentive to see the process through, since they cannot inherit until probate is complete.

How Can A Mullins, South Carolina Lawyer Help?

Because of the intricacies involved in probate, it would be smart to hire a brilliant Mullins, South Carolina probate lawyer, especially if you are the executor of an estate and unsure how to proceed.