Estate Administration

What is estate administration?

Estate administration is important for carrying out a person’s final wishes after they die. The executor, with help from a lawyer, is responsible for managing this process properly.

If you are an executor or administrator, talk to our wills and estate lawyers in Townsville to see how they can help.

The time it takes to handle an estate can differ based on how complicated and valuable the assets and property are. The executor usually needs to obtain probate in order to gain permission for handling the estate. The timeframe for this process can vary.

Once the court grants probate, the executor has 12 months to settle the administration of the deceased estate.

During the estate administration process, the executor must collect all the estate assets and pay off any outstanding debts or liabilities, including taxes. This process may involve communicating with financial institutions such as banks and super funds to access the assets.

Finally, once all the assets have been gathered, and all the outstanding debts have been paid off, the executor will distribute the remaining assets amongst the estate’s beneficiaries. This is the final step in handling someone’s estate after their death.

Townsville Wills and Estate Lawyers can help with:

• understanding the rights and responsibilities of an executor
• applying for probate
• identifying and collecting the deceased’s assets
• advising on tax liabilities
• estate administration
• letters of administration application (if there is no Will, or the Will is invalid)
• distributing assets to beneficiaries
• claims against Wills and estates
• intestacy issues.