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| Overview | Administration of a Decedent's Estate |
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| Guardianship | Conservatorship |
Administration of a Decedent’s Estate
After someone dies, the probate court supervises the distribution of
his or her property. If the decedent left a will, the probate court appoints
the executor named in the will to distribute the property of the estate
according to its terms. If the decedent died without a will (which is
known as dying “intestate”), the probate court appoints an
administrator to distribute the property of the estate according to the
state’s law of intestacy. The administrator still follows the steps
listed below, but substitutes other procedures for those steps related
specifically to wills. The executor of a will and the administrator of
an intestate estate are called “fiduciaries” because they
stand in a position of trust. In both a testate and intestate estate,
the probate court supervises the distribution of property, the payment
of the decedent’s outstanding debts, funeral expenses and taxes.
The Probate Process
Special Circumstances: Dying Intestate
and Small Estates <$20k
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