EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS
Those who are designated by the terms of a will or
appointed by a court of probate to manage the
assets and liabilities of the estate of the deceased.
When a person dies leaving property, that
property, called an estate, is usually settled or
administered under the supervision of SPECIAL
COURTS.Depending on the state, such courts are
called probate, surrogate, or ORPHANS’ COURTS.
They are typically county courts with jurisdic-
tion and powers defined by state laws.
States require court supervision for the set-
tlement of estates for a number of reasons.
Courts ensure that the assets of an estate will be
properly collected, preserved, and assessed; that
all relevant debts of the deceased and taxes will
be paid; and that remaining assets will be dis-
tributed to the heirs according to the provisions
of the will or applicable laws.
The duty of settling and distributing the
estate of a decedent (one who has died) is assigned to personal representatives of the dece-
dent. A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE may be an
executor (male or female) or executrix (female),
or administrator (male or female) or adminis-
tratrix (female). An executor or executrix is the
person named in a will to administer the estate.
An administrator or administratrix is a person
appointed by the court to administer the estate
of someone who died without a will.
Executors and administrators act as officers
of the court because they derive their authority
from court appointments. They are also consid-
ered the fiduciaries, or trusted representatives, of
the deceased. As such, they have an absolute
duty to properly administer the estate solely for
its beneficiaries.
Probate is the process by which the court
establishes that a will is valid. The first step in the
probate process is to file the will in the appropriate
court with a petition to admit it to probate and to
grant letters testamentary to the person designated
as executor of the will. Letters testamentary are the
formal instruments of authority and appoint-
ment given to an executor by the probate court,
empowering that person to act as an executor.
If an executor is unable or refuses to serve, if
there is no will, or if the will is deemed to be
inauthentic or invalid, the court appoints an
administrator. LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION
are the formal court papers that authorize a per-
son to serve as an administrator of an estate that
