In Cottonwood Heights, Utah, 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 court in Cottonwood Heights, Utah has various important responsibilities. Most especially, it has to decide if the will is valid, and consider evidence that it is not (if any such evidence exists). The probate court then has to guarantee that the property is distributed in an orderly manner, as close to the terms of the will (assuming it is valid) as possible.

The executor of the estate is frequently named in the will. If not, the probate court in Cottonwood Heights, Utah will name will appoint a person to serve as executor. This is typically the person who stands to inherit the most under the will.

The executor is the person accountable for initiating the probate proceedings. The person who would inherit the most from the will is appointed, because they have the greatest motivation to move the process along as quickly as possible, so they can get their inheritance.

Duties of the Executor in Cottonwood Heights, Utah

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

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.

As the representative of the estate, the executor has to take charge of the probate process, filing the proper court papers, and, if necessary, hiring an attorney for guidance. If the estate is large, and the executor stands to inherit a great deal of money once this process is done, they'll probably find it to be worth the time and expense.

How Can A Cottonwood Heights, Utah Lawyer Help?

Because of the difficulties involved in probate, it would be smart to hire a reliable Cottonwood Heights, Utah probate lawyer, especially if you are the executor of an estate and unsure how to proceed.