When someone dies, their assets and debts make up their estate, which must go through probate before being distributed to heirs or beneficiaries. Treatment of estates varies worldwide based on legal, religious, and cultural factors. Executors or personal representatives inventory the estate, pay debts, and transfer ownership to beneficiaries or heirs.
When a person dies, they often leave property and personal effects, as well as bills and creditors that need to be paid. The person who has died is called the deceased. The set of all assets, personal and real, tangible and intangible, is considered the patrimony of the deceased. In most jurisdictions, the deceased’s estate must go through a legal process known as probate before the estate can be distributed to heirs or beneficiaries.
The treatment of a deceased’s estate can vary around the world based on the laws of the legal system, religious laws and cultural traditions. In some areas of the world, for example, women still do not have the legal right to inherit from a deceased person’s estate. Also, in many countries, religious law dictates how property is transferred upon someone’s death. In the United States, however, each state has very specific probate laws that dictate how a deceased’s estate should be handled in the event of their death.
When a deceased dies and a will and testament is located, someone must present the will to the county courthouse where the deceased died and apply for a probate to be opened. Normally, the person filing the motion is the person named as executor. In the absence of a will, a family member or close friend can apply to open the estate and ask to be appointed as a personal representative. In both cases, the court must approve the appointment.
The executor or personal representative will then inventory the estate making a detailed list of all assets, including real estate, personal property, cash, stocks and bonds, and anything else of value. The current market value must also be determined for all properties. The inventory must be filed with the court along with all the creditors’ claims. The executor or personal representative must also review and pay all approved claims of the estate, including taxes.
When all real estate has been accounted for and all approved claims have been paid, the executor or personal representative will submit a final accounting to the court. After the court approves the final account, remaining ownership of the deceased’s estate can be transferred to the beneficiaries or heirs. A beneficiary is anyone to whom the deceased bequeathed property under a will. An heir is anyone who inherits property in legitimate succession or in the absence of a will.
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