The court appointed executor has the authority to make all decisions to carry out the provisions of the Will and take all other actions necessary to pay debts, distribute property and close the estate. See link for a listing of all the duties of the executor:
http://estate.findlaw.com/estate-administration/checklist-the-executor-s-role.html
Yes, unless they are excused by the court.
That is their responsibility in all states. They represent the deceased in the execution of their will. They will need court agreement to do anything not specified in the will.
The executor makes decisions regarding the estate. No will is needed.
If you are writing a will, then you need an executor. However in this case where you are leaving everything to her, she can be the executor.
The executor is responsible to the court. Anyone with an interest in the case can present his concerns to the probate judge. The executor does not owe anyone anything. No one can tell the executor to do anything. If the probate judge instructs the executor to give you a copy of the report, you will get a copy of the report. If you do not present your concerns to the probate court, you are Sadly Out of Luck.
An executor of the estate does not have the right to "take everything". Rather, the executor has the responsibility to execute the will of the person who died. If the deceased had no will and no immediate relatives, it gets more complicated.
Estates do not use power of attourney, they are managed by the executor(s) named in the will. It is the executors LEGAL DUTY to do what the will instructs - if an executor does not want to do this then a court will need to decide what to do.
The executor must distribute the estate according to the provisions in the will and the state probate laws. Any time an executor encounters a difficult situation that involves not being able to follow the provisions in the will (such as not enough assets to pay debts and legacies) the executor can explain the situation in a motion to the court and ask for a ruling. The court will review the problem, apply state law and render a decision that instructs the executor how to handle the situation. The decision protects the executor from any future claims of malpractice as the executor.
No. If there is a will then the executor of the will MUST do what the will says.
Yes, the person named by the deceased as administrator of the will is called the executor. The job of the executor is (out of the deceased's estate) to settle all the deceased outstanding debts and pay for the funeral. Then the executor adds up everything in the deceased's estate, pays any outstanding taxes and any inheritance taxes that may be due and presents the account of all this along with the will to a special court called a probate court. If the court is happy with what has been done the executor is then granted a probate document which allows him dispose of the remainder of the estate as the person's will instructs. Without the deed of probate, companies like banks and stockbrokers will not accept the executors instructions to do things with the deceased's property.The filing of the will is the act of presenting it (and the accounts) to the probate court.
The executor of the will is the person responsible for following the instructions of the will. They work with the probate court to make sure everything is done legally. The court provides them with a letter of authority that will allow them to act on behalf of the estate.
They need to close the estate. This is much easier when the spouse inherits everything.
Yes, and they frequently are as in the case of the standard husband and wife will, where each spouse leaves the entire estate to the other spouse and names that spouse the executor.
The living trust has a trustee, not an executor. The will is a separate process and you would be the executor.
What is the difference between an independent co-executor and a co-executor