In Bell County, Texas, 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.

As part of this procedure, the Bell County, Texas probate court will decide the validity of the will, inventory the decedent's assets and debts, and then, lastly, distribute the estate according to the will, assuming it is deemed to be valid.

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

The executor is the individual who initiates probate proceedings. The person who stands to inherit the most from the will is usually appointed the executor, because they will have the most incentive to help the process go as quickly as possible, so they can get their inheritance.

Duties of the Executor in Bell County, Texas

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

Also, it's the executor's job to notify all concerned parties that the person who made the will has died. "Interested parties" are generally people who are named in the will, or who would inherit the estate if the decedent had died without a will.

The executor will also have to compile and make accessible a list of all of the decedent's debts and assets, as well as a list of those who stand to inherit from the decedent.

Because the executor serves as the living personification of the decedent's estate, they are solely accountable for proving the validity of the will. This is a lot of work, but because executors are usually 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 finalization.

How Can A Bell County, Texas Lawyer Help?

Because this can be (though isn't always) a fairly perplexing process, it's a good idea to get a reputable probate lawyer in Bell County, Texas, especially if you find yourself being the executor of an estate, and aren't sure how to proceed.