Talk To An Attorney About Your Probate Administration Needs in Columbus, Delaware, and Greater Central Ohio
If you've been named Executor in a Will then you learn very quickly that it can be an overwhelming process. If your loved one died without a Will then someone may have to open an estate at the local probate court and get appointed as Administrator of the estate. The terms "Administrator" and "Executor" are often used interchangeably, but "Executor" refers to a person appointed in a Will and "Administrator" refers to the person appointed to administer the estate by the Probate Court for a person who died without a Will.The basic purpose of the Executor is to carry out the wishes of the person who died and left behind the Will (this person is called the "decedent") as those wishes are documented in the Will. The things that need to be done are to find all the assets of the decedent, find all the debts, pay off the legitimate debts, and distribute the assets to the beneficiaries. What can make this process difficult is figuring out where all the assets are, selling those assets to turn the value into cash, or otherwise transferring the asset to the appropriate beneficiary. There are certain applications and letters of authority that have to be made at the Probate Court in order to transfer and sell certain types of assets.
