Personal representative duties

If you’ve been named personal representative (sometimes still called an executor) in someone’s will, or appointed by the court for an estate without a will, you have real legal duties to the estate’s heirs and creditors. These duties are personal to you and they begin the moment you accept the appointment.

What we’ll cover in detail

• The order of operations: petition, oath, letters testamentary
• Notifying heirs and known creditors and publishing notice to unknown creditors
• Inventorying and securing the estate’s assets
• Paying valid debts, taxes, and administrative expenses in the right order
• When you might need a probate bond and when you’re excused from one
• Distributing what remains and closing the estate
• Common mistakes that lead to personal liability

Personal representatives don’t need to know all of this on day one. We’ll help you do the right things in the right order.