ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROCEEDINGS
An estate administrator is the person who is in charge of a deceased person’s estate when there is no will in place or an existing Executor does not feel able to perform his/her duties. An Estate Administrator’s duties may include collecting estate assets, paying debts, expenses and taxes, preparing estate tax returns, distributing any net estate assets to the proper beneficiaries.
PROBATE PROCEEDINGS
Probate is a legal process by which a deceased person’s will is proved to be valid or invalid. Each person’s estate must go through this probate process, which is overseen by a probate court. If the person has left a will, the court will decide if it is valid. If someone dies without leaving a valid will (intestate), the probate court appoints a personal representative to distribute the decedent’s assets based on heredity.
Our estate planning attorneys at Schum & Werner are skilled at facilitating and streamlining the probate process and employing legal strategies in the most effective manner.