What are the duties of an administrator of an intestate estate?
The duties of an administrator are similar to those of the executor of a will, except that an administrator must follow more defined instructions of the probate court and must distribute the property in accordance with the statute of descent and distribution rather than by the terms of a will. The basic duties of an administrator are: • Inventory and appraisal. The administrator must identify and determine the fair market value of all financial assets and property that were owned by the decedent at the time of death. The administrator must file an inventory listing all of the decedent’s so-called probate assets and their date-of-death values with the probate court within three months of the administrator’s appointment, unless an extension is granted. It is important to understand that most estates include what are known as non-probate assets, which generally do not have to be included in the inventory filed with the probate court. Non-probate assets are assets that legally pass from a
