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FAQs About Probate in Nashville

Nashville Blog 2018 October FAQs About Probate in Nashville
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FAQs About Probate in Nashville

Posted By David Whittaker, Attorney at Law || 4-Oct-2018

When clients come to my firm, a lot of times it’s their first experience with probate. They don’t know much about it and sometimes, they don’t know anything at all. If your loved one died and you were surprised to learn that their estate has to be probated, you have plenty of company. A lot of people are in your shoes.

To help you better understand the probate process, I created a list of frequently asked questions and answers about probate in Nashville. If you still have questions or need legal representation in a probate case, I encourage you to contact my firm for assistance.

What is probate?
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will, appointing an executor or personal representative to administer the estate, and having that individual pay all of the estate’s debts and distribute what’s left of the estate to the rightful heirs.

What does fiduciary mean?
A fiduciary is an individual who has a legal duty to act in the best interests of another person. An executor of an estate is a fiduciary; therefore, he or she must act in the best interests of the heirs of the estate.

Fiduciaries cannot engage in any self-dealing, nor can they co-mingle the estate’s assets with their own. Finally, they cannot treat one heir better than another. Administrators and trustees are also fiduciaries and if they fail in their duties, they can be held legally liable for harm done to an estate.

What is the difference between an executor and an administrator?
An executor is a person named in a will to administer a deceased person’s estate. If someone dies without a will, the court will appoint an administrator to settle the decedent’s affairs. Essentially, their duties are the same but they have different titles and both executives and administrators are “personal representatives.”

What does testate and intestate mean?
When someone dies with a valid will, he or she is said to have died testate. On the other hand, if the person dies without leaving behind a valid will, they are said to have died “intestate.” Intestate estates are distributed according to Tennessee’s laws for intestate estates, which means the property is usually distributed among the decedent’s next of kin or closest living relatives.

What does admitting a will to probate mean?
When a will is admitted to probate or when it’s probated, it means the will was submitted to the probate court to be validated. Once a will is authenticated, the court-supervised process of probate begins – this is where the debts are paid and the remaining assets are distributed among the heirs.

Do I need a probate attorney?
If you are appointed as a personal representative (executor, administrator or trustee) and the case will be held in Davidson County, you will need an attorney – you have to be represented by a lawyer because it is required by the court. If you are opening a small estate, you may be allowed to forgo legal representation, but it is still advisable to have an attorney represent you.

Related: I Didn’t Ask to Be an Executor

Looking for a Nashville probate lawyer? Contact me today to work with an attorney with compassion, experience and integrity.

Categories: Probate, Trusts, Wills, Intestate Estates, Testate Estates, Intestate Succession

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law - Nashville Probate Attorney
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