Editing Probate (section)

===Steps of probate===

If the decedent dies without a will, known as [[intestacy]], with the exception of real properly located in another [[jurisdiction]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simes |first1=Lewis M. |title=Administration of a Decedent's Estate As a Proceeding in Rem |journal=Michigan Law Review |date=1945 |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=675–704 |doi=10.2307/1283439 |jstor=1283439 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/mlr43&div=42&id=&page= |access-date=24 September 2019|url-access=subscription }}</ref> the estate is distributed according to the laws of the jurisdiction where the decedent [[Domicile (law)|resided]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stern |first1=James Y. |title=Property, Exclusivity, and Jurisdiction |journal=Virginia Law Review |date=2014 |volume=100 |page=111 |url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1671 |access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

If the decedent died with a will, the will usually names an [[executor]] (personal representative), who carries out the instructions laid out in the will. The executor marshals the decedent's assets. If there is no will, or if the will does not name an executor, the probate court can appoint one. Traditionally, the representative of an [[wikt:testate|intestate]] estate is called an ''administrator''. If the decedent died with a will, but only a copy of the will can be located, many states allow the copy to be probated, subject to the rebuttable presumption that the testator destroyed the will before death.

In some cases, where the person named as executor cannot administer the probate, or wishes to have someone else do so, another person is named administrator. An executor or an administrator may receive compensation for his service. Additionally, beneficiaries of an estate may be able to remove the appointed executor if he or she is not capable of properly fulfilling his or her duties.

The representative of a testate estate who is someone other than the executor named in the will is an ''administrator with the will annexed'', or administrator c.t.a. (from the Latin ''cum testamento annexo''.) The generic term for executors or administrators is [[personal representative]].{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

The probate court may require that the executor provide a [[fidelity bond]], an insurance policy in favor of the estate to protect against possible abuse by the executor.<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Neill|first1=Kevin|title=Probate|url=http://www.co.warren.nj.us/surrogate/probate.html|website=Office of the Surrogate|publisher=Warren County, New Jersey|access-date=19 September 2017}}</ref>

After opening the probate case with the court, the personal representative inventories and collects the decedent's property. Next, he pays any debts and taxes, including [[estate tax in the United States]], if the estate is taxable at the federal or state level. Finally, he distributes the remaining property to the beneficiaries, either as instructed in the will, or under the [[intestacy]] laws of the state.

A party may challenge any aspect of the probate administration, such as a direct challenge to the validity of the will, known as a [[will contest]], a challenge to the status of the person serving as personal representative, a challenge as to the identity of the heirs, and a challenge to whether the personal representative is properly administering the estate. Issues of [[Paternity (law)|paternity]] can be disputed among the potential heirs in intestate estates, especially with the advent of inexpensive [[DNA profiling]] techniques. In some situations, however, even biological heirs can be denied their inheritance rights, while non-biological heirs can be granted inheritance rights.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dobbin|first1=Ben|title=Woman Denied Jell-O Fortune|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=4447436|access-date=19 September 2017|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ABC News|date=13 March 2008}}</ref>

The personal representative must understand and abide by the fiduciary duties, such as a duty to keep money in interest bearing account and to treat all beneficiaries equally. Not complying with the fiduciary duties may allow interested persons to petition for the removal of the personal representative and hold the personal representative liable for any harm to the estate.