Who will be appointed the administrator or executor of the estate?
If the decedent left a will and named an executor in his or her will that person will most likely be appointed as the executor of the decedent’s estate unless the named executor refuses to act or is unfit to serve as executor. If the decedent died without leaving a will, the court will appoint a person to act as the administrator of the decedent’s estate. California law provides a list of relatives designating who has priority to act as the administrator of the decedent’s estate. The court will appoint one of these relatives in the order of their priority to act as the administrator of the decedent’s estate provided the person is qualified and there are no objections to his or her appointment. The parties can also request that more than one individual act as administrators of the decedent’s estate.
