ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS

There are intestate proceedings, when there is no will and probate or testamentary proceedings, when the
descendant leaves a will. A decedent’s estate must be managed by someone, whether there is a will or not. When the
deceased leaves a will, he names this person, the executor, in the will. The executor must carry out all the responsibilities
of the administration of an estate and must carry out the terms of the will. When the deceased person did not leave a
will, the estate is managed by an administrator, appointed by the court. An administrator with the will annexed is a
person appointed by the court to administer the estate when the executor dies.
An executor or administrator is known as fiduciary or legal representative of an estate. He has the power to:
• To take the assets of the estate into his possession. It’s a legal possession, that is to say, the actual control over the
assets.
•    To sell and liquidate personal property and convert the assets of the estate into cash.
•  To pay debts and funeral and administration expenses.
•   To distribute the estate to the beneficiaries.
The legal representative must also obtain full information regarding the assets, so as to prepare a complete inventory of
the deceased’s assets as soon as possible.
Sometimes, if the deceased owned real property, he may also be permitted to manage or sell the real estate. But he must
keep the funds and the property received separate from his own personal funds and property.
It is important for the legal representative to keep proper accounts of the disposition of the funds and the property of the
estate, in order to be prepared to make a final account.
After all debts and inheritance and estate taxes have been paid, the legal representative is ready to distribute the assets
of the estate to the beneficiaries.
The compensation of a legal representative, known as commission, is generally based on the size of the state and is
usually a percentage.
After he has completed his duties, the legal representative should file with the probate court an account establishing all
assets he has received, all debts and administration expenses he has paid and the final distribution of the assets. This
accounting is the final act of the legal representative: it discharges his responsibility to the estate.
When a person dies intestate, meaning without a will, his property is disposed of under the inheritance laws of the
state in which he resided. The right to inherit property when there is no will is governed by the laws of descent and
distribution in each state. 
Descent refers to the handing down of real property by inheritance on the death of an owner who dies intestate. 
Distribution means the allocation to heirs of the personal property of an individual who dies intestate. In the past, there
used to be a distinction between those who inherited real property, called heirs, and those who inherited personal
property, called next of kin.
When there is no will, the prevailing principle is that the surviving spouse shares the inheritance with the children. Other
heirs take possession of property in the following order:
− Children and descendants or deceased children
− Parents or surviving parents
− Brothers, sisters or children of deceased brothers and sisters
Sometimes, there are differences between relatives of half-blood and relatives of whole blood. Also, illegitimate children
inherit property from their mothers but not from their fathers, unless the father has acknowledged paternity.
If after the lapse of a certain time no heirs claim the estate of a deceased person, it passes to and becomes the property
of the state. This is the doctrine of escheat.
Under community property systems, and despite the provisions of a will, on the death of a husband or wife one-half, all
the community property passes to the surviving spouse. The other half is subject to disposition by will, if there is one, or
by the inheritance laws of the estate, if there is no will.