The term “administratrix” refers to a female administrator of an estate or government agency. When a person dies without a will, a court assigns an administrator to distribute assets after paying debts. Executors and administrators must report to the probate court and follow strict rules for asset distribution.
The term “administratrix” is most commonly used to refer to the female administrator of an estate. Always limited to women, the term is generally limited to legal matters; that is to say, the female administrator of a property is called an administrator, but the female administrator of a government agency is generally called an administrator. In the UK the term can also be applied to the person charged with administering the affairs of a company in dire financial straits as a prelude to – or alternative to – bankruptcy.
In the Western tradition, as in most others in modern civilization, goods and other possessions that a person accumulates during life, including money, become part of his estate upon death and are distributed or otherwise disposed of according to the instructions of the deceased. These instructions are usually left in writing and are typically called a Last Will and Testament, or, more simply, a will. The person writing the will, called a testator, appoints an executor, usually a good friend or family member. The executor is responsible for carrying out its terms and must do so to the best of his ability, within the limits of the law. If the executor is a woman, she is properly called the executor.
When a person dies without a will, i.e. without leaving a will, the disposition of the estate is generally up to the courts. In the United States, such cases are usually assigned to special courts called probate courts. The probate judge will delegate this authority to an administrator, whose job is to arrange for the estate assets to be disposed of, usually according to the rules established by law. It is common for the court, if requested, to assign the position to a surviving family member, especially in the case of a modest fortune. If not, the court will assign the job to someone with experience in estate administration, usually a local probate attorney.
The estate must first pay the legitimate debts of the deceased, after which the remaining assets of the estate are distributed. To determine debts, the trustee will review the deceased’s records, mail, and other correspondence, as well as take steps to notify the community of the death and solicit legitimate claims. At the same time, an inventory of the assets is carried out and, if necessary, appraisals are carried out to determine their value. After a reasonable amount of time has passed for creditors to show up and make claims, the remaining assets are distributed.
A steward cannot simply give the goods of an estate to those she likes or believes deserve them; most jurisdictions in all nations have fairly strict rules for the disposition of a property. In most cases, the assets are liquidated and the funds are distributed among the surviving family members according to strict formulas. When there are no surviving relatives, assets often revert to the government.
Both the executor and the administrator of an estate must report periodically to the probate court and document their progress in settling the affairs of their estates, and generally cannot move from one stage to another without court authorization. Distributing the value of the estate to surviving family members is usually the final step in managing an estate, and while more modest estates can be disposed of within weeks or a few months, more complex estates are known to require a year or more to clear the succession.
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