Estate Administration & Probate
Estate administration tests the paralegal's ability to open an estate, marshal assets, publish notice to creditors, and close with an accounting. The governing statute is state-specific, so questions reward knowing which rule the local probate code actually adopts rather than assuming the Uniform Probate Code applies everywhere.
Core rules to hold
- Intestate succession passes by statute; per stirpes divides the deceased heir's share among that heir's descendants, while per capita divides equally among surviving takers at the same level.
- A valid will requires testamentacy intent, capacity, and statutory formalities: signature by the testator and attestation by the required number of witnesses, often with a self-proving affidavit to avoid later witness testimony.
- Primary or domiciliary probate occurs where the decedent was domiciled; real property in another state requires ancillary probate there, though many states allow a small-estate affidavit below a statutory threshold.
- The personal representative owes fiduciary duties, files an inventory, publishes notice to creditors, and petitions for distribution after the claim period runs.
- Non-probate transfers (joint tenancy, payable-on-death, beneficiary designations, revocable trusts) pass outside the will and outside creditor claims in most states.
Worked example
Decedent dies intestate with a surviving spouse and three children, one of whom predeceased leaving two children. Under a typical UPC-style statute the spouse takes the entire estate only if all surviving descendants are also the spouse's descendants. If the predeceased child was from another relationship, the spouse takes the statutory first-dollar amount plus a fraction. The deceased child's share is divided per stirpes, so the two grandchildren split that one share.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming a will controls a joint account or life insurance; distributing to surviving children while forgetting the anti-lapse statute; and calculating the spousal share before checking whether the decedent had descendants from another relationship.