Estate Administration
Estate administration is the legal process of settling a deceased person's final affairs. This involves managing and distributing their assets and paying their debts. The process is overseen by an appointed administrator who must act in the best interest of the estate and its heirs. Tasks include inventorying assets, paying outstanding taxes and creditors, and distributing the remaining property to beneficiaries. The administrator is the appointed individual responsible for these tasks.
Estate administration and trust administration duties can overlap but there is a very big difference between the two:
- Estate administration deals with the distribution of assets as stipulated in a will. It goes through probate.
- Trust administration covers assets placed in trust (not a will) by a grantor for named beneficiaries. It avoids probate.
Arizona Fiduciary Services is licensed to be named personal representative for clients throughout Arizona. Our Tucson office handles personal representation for clients in southern Arizona including Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, and Green Valley. We also work with out-of-state attorneys and private clients.
Duties of an Estate Administrator
As with trust administration, it is wise for an inexperienced executor to seek the advice of a fiduciary or attorney to be sure all legal administrative requirements have been met.
Estate administration duties can include the following:
- Locate, study, and file original will with court (Requires petitioning the probate court to be appointed executor)
- Inventory and safeguard assets
- Collect income, verify and pay obligations
- Manage investments
- Review stock holdings and confer with brokers
- Assist with gathering information for tax return preparation
- Consult with accountants and attorneys
- Secure personal property
- Prepare real property taxes and assessor's transfer exclusion forms
- Manage decedent's business (if applicable)
- Notify beneficiaries and creditors
- Prepare and file accounting
- Produce financial reports
- Distribute estate, or if no will exists, determine the heirs and distributions according to law
- File a final account with the probate court.
eContesting the estate
There is always a chance that a family member or another entity will contest the estate documentation. This is another good reason to consult with a professional when the documents are being drawn up. Contested legacies can be very costly, financially and emotionally.
No matter how small or large the estate, Arizona Fiduciary Services will handle everything in a timely manner with integrity, intelligence, and experience.
We Know Estate Administration
Arizona Fiduciary Services has substantial experience in probate estate administration and is licensed for personal representation throughout Arizona. We work with law firms and their clients as well as contracting directly with private individuals. Our principal, Laurie Kuzdal, is a probate paralegal with extensive experience in:
- Understanding probate procedures
- Preparing statutory forms and pleadings
- Handling full probates
- Handling non-probate transfers of assets from inception to completion