What is the difference between Formal Administration and Summary Administration?
When most people think of “probate,” they are thinking of a process called Formal Administration. This process is required for those estates exceeding $75,000 in value or in instances for which a decedent’s creditors have not been adequately provided. In a Formal Administration, a personal representative is appointed by a Court to collect a decedent’s assets, address any outstanding liabilities and report all matters to a Court prior to distributing any remaining assets to the estate’s beneficiaries. The process of Summary Administration is available when an estate is less than $75,000 (assuming all creditors have been properly addressed) or when death occurred more than two years prior to initiation. Rather than appointing a personal representative and requiring the steps of a Formal Administration, a Court in a Summary Administration will direct the immediate disposition of a decedent’s assets to the estate’s beneficiaries.
