An estate executor is the person who administers an estate after another individual passes away. There are many different duties and responsibilities that they have to take on.
Some of these are procedural. They may need to obtain copies of the death certificate, for example. They may need to file the will with the probate court so that the probate process can get started.
Notifying the beneficiaries
Additionally, the estate executor is often the person who provides all of the paperwork to the beneficiaries. They may need to give these beneficiaries a copy of the will, for example, so that they know what they are going to inherit. At the same time, the estate administrator may need to inventory the existing assets, gain access to bank accounts and take other important steps so that those assets can be distributed in accordance with the will.
Addressing outstanding debts
Furthermore, it is often the estate executor who has to handle any obligations that the estate still has. This could include paying property taxes or income taxes to the government, for example, or handling estate taxes.
Even for relatively minor expenses, such as credit card bills, the debt remains. It is not inherited by the beneficiaries, however. Instead, creditors make claims against the estate, and the estate administrator pays these claims before distributing assets to beneficiaries.
These are just a few of the important duties that an estate administrator will take on, and they help to show why it is so important for those going through this process to understand exactly what legal steps they will need to take.