What Happens When You Die Part 6

Previously, in PART 5, we discussed claims against the estate. After the claim period in the estate has run, the Personal Representative is then in a position to pay any outstanding debts and distribute any remaining assets. 

If sufficient assets exist in the estate to pay all the claimants, those claims will be paid first. Once a claimant is paid, they will file a Release of their claim with the Personal Representative or the Court, depending upon how the claim was filed.  

Thereafter, the remaining assets will be distributed to the beneficiaries/heirs. The Personal Representative has an obligation to account to the beneficiaries/heirs of the estate. This can be accomplished in one of two ways.  

The Personal Representative can send an Accounting and Proposed Distribution to all of the beneficiaries/heirs and ask that they sign off on that proposal. The Accounting will outline what assets have come into the control of the Personal Representative, what claims and expenses were paid, and how he or she is proposing to distribute what is left. If the beneficiaries/heirs all sign off, the Personal Representative can make the distributions and ask the Court to close the estate.

The Personal Representative may also file the Accounting and Proposed Distribution with the Court and ask for Court approval of that proposal. The Personal Representative, with the assistance of his or her attorney, would set a hearing before the Court to ask for that approval. All the beneficiaries/heirs would receive notice of the time and place of that hearing. They would be entitled, at that time, to raise any objections to the proposal. The Court would then make orders about how the estate should be distributed. 

At this point, our foray into the estate administration process has come to a close. Hopefully, this series has helped to somewhat demystify the process. Thanks for reading.