§560:3-701 Time of accrual of duties and powers. The duties and powers of a personal representative commence upon appointment. The powers of a personal representative relate back in time to give acts by the person appointed which are beneficial to the estate occurring prior to the person’s appointment the same effect as those occurring thereafter. […]
§560:3-702 Priority among different letters. A person to whom general letters are issued first has exclusive authority under the letters until the person’s appointment is terminated or modified. If, through error, general letters are afterwards issued to another, the first appointed representative may recover any property of the estate in the hands of the representative […]
§560:3-703 General duties; relation and liability to persons interested in estate; standing to sue. (a) A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees as described by sections 554D-804, 554D-806, and 554D-808(c). A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent […]
§560:3-704 Personal representative to proceed without court order; exception. A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously with the settlement and distribution of a decedent’s estate and, except as otherwise specified or ordered in regard to a supervised personal representative, do so without adjudication, order, or direction of the court, but the personal representative may invoke the […]
§560:3-705 Duty of personal representative; information to heirs and devisees. Not later than thirty days after the appointment every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the personal representative’s appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representative was appointed on […]
§560:3-706 Duty of personal representative; inventory and appraisement. Within three months after the appointment, a personal representative, who is not a special administrator or a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty, shall prepare and file or mail an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death, listing […]
§560:3-707 Employment of appraisers. The personal representative may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser to assist in ascertaining the fair market value as of the date of the decedent’s death of any asset the value of which may be subject to reasonable doubt. Different persons may be employed to appraise different kinds of assets included […]
§560:3-708 Duty of personal representative; supplementary inventory. If any property not included in the original inventory comes to the knowledge of a personal representative or if the personal representative learns that the value or description indicated in the original inventory for any item is erroneous or misleading, the personal representative shall make a supplementary inventory […]
§560:3-709 Duty of personal representative; possession of estate. Except as otherwise provided by a decedent’s will, every personal representative has a right to, and shall take possession or control of, the decedent’s property, except that any real property or tangible personal property may be left with or surrendered to the person presumptively entitled thereto unless […]
§560:3-710 Power to avoid transfers. The property liable for the payment of unsecured debts of a decedent includes all property transferred by the decedent by any means which is in law void or voidable as against the decedent’s creditors, and subject to prior liens, the right to recover this property, so far as necessary for […]
§560:3-711 Powers of personal representatives; in general. Until termination of appointment a personal representative has the same power over the title to property of the estate that an absolute owner would have, in trust however, for the benefit of the creditors and others interested in the estate. This power may be exercised without notice, hearing, […]
§560:3-712 Improper exercise of power; breach of fiduciary duty. If the exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust. The rights of purchasers and others dealing […]
§560:3-713 Sale, encumbrance, or transaction involving conflict of interest; voidable; exceptions. Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative, the personal representative’s spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, agent, or attorney, or any corporation or trust in which the personal representative has a substantial beneficial interest, or any transaction which is affected by a substantial conflict of […]
§560:3-714 Persons dealing with personal representative; protection. A person who in good faith either assists a personal representative or deals with the personal representative for value is protected as if the personal representative properly exercised the personal representative’s power. The fact that a person knowingly deals with a personal representative does not alone require the […]
§560:3-715 Transactions authorized for personal representatives; exceptions. Except as restricted or otherwise provided by the will or by an order in a formal proceeding or by sections 531-28.5 and 531-29, and subject to the priorities stated in section 560:3-902, a personal representative, acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may properly: (1) Retain […]
§560:3-716 Powers and duties of successor personal representative. A successor personal representative has the same power and duty as the original personal representative to complete the administration and distribution of the estate, as expeditiously as possible, but the successor personal representative shall not exercise any power expressly made personal to the executor named in the […]
§560:3-717 Co-representatives; when joint action required. If two or more persons are appointed co-representatives and unless the will provides otherwise, the concurrence of all is required on all acts connected with the administration and distribution of the estate. This restriction does not apply when any co-representative receives and receipts for property due the estate, when […]
§560:3-718 Powers of surviving personal representative. Unless the terms of the will otherwise provide, every power exercisable by personal co-representatives may be exercised by the one or more remaining after the appointment of one or more is terminated, and if one of two or more nominated as co-executors is not appointed, those appointed may exercise […]
§560:3-719 Compensation of personal representative. A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for the personal representative’s services. If a will provides for compensation of the personal representative and there is no contract with the decedent regarding compensation, the personal representative may renounce the provision before qualifying and be entitled to reasonable compensation. A personal […]
§560:3-720 Expenses in estate litigation. If any personal representative or person nominated as personal representative defends or prosecutes any proceeding in good faith, whether successful or not that person is entitled to receive from the estate that person’s necessary expenses and disbursements including reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred. [L 1996, c 288, pt of §1] Case […]
