What is "estate administration" and who handles the administration?
Estate administration is the process of dealing with a deceased person's legal, financial, and personal affairs after his death. Typically, this is the responsibility of the executor named in the Will. If there is no Will, it is the responsibility of the administrator (determined by Pennsylvania law). The executor's role in administering the estate often includes cleaning out and selling any real estate, closing/transferring all financial accounts, ensuring beneficiary accounts are transferred, paying bills, filing tax returns, maintaining detailed records of the estate account, communicating with beneficiaries, distributing the estate, and dealing with any other estate-related issues.
Do you need a lawyer to administer an estate or to probate?
No. There is no legal requirement that an executor must use an attorney. However, mistakes are often made when administering an estate without an estate attorney and unfortunately the executor usually doesn't even realize it. The executor that chooses to administer the estate without an estate attorney typically thinks he (or she) has done an excellent job, thinks the administration was so easy and others make it seem unnecessarily complicated, or has managed to settle the estate within a matter of only months. By the time the executor comes to me with one outstanding issue to help with, there turns out to be a number of other outstanding matters. In many cases, the executor is surprised to hear that requirements have been missed. This situation arises so frequently that it is the motivator for this blog topic.
We are here to help.
We are here to be a resource and help executors through what is often a confusing process. We can guide them through ensuring the administration is done properly and all requirements are met. The executor still must shoulder a great deal of tasks, but when the executor is ready to finally distribute the estate to the beneficiaries, he can close the estate with peace of mind. Unfortunately, when an executor distributes the money in the estate on his own, ignorantly thinking he has completed all of the steps, he unknowingly exposes himself to personal and financial harm in the future.
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