Estate Administration occurs after the Will is admitted to probate and letters testamentary have been issued to the named Executor. If the decedent died intestate, i.e., without a Will, then estate administration occurs after “letters of administration” are issued to the Administrator of the Estate. Thus, an Executor administers an estate where there is a Will, and an Administrator administers an estate where there is no Will.
Administration of an estate requires that the Executor (or Administrator) to perform many tasks, some of which include marshalling the assets of the estate, performing an accounting, distributing estate assets, and filing any necessary tax returns.
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