§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 that are beneficial to the estate occurring prior to appointment the same effect as those occurring after appointment. Subject […]
§3-702. Priority among different letters A person to whom general letters are first issued has exclusive authority under the letters until that person’s appointment is terminated or modified. If through error general letters are later issued to another, the first appointed representative may recover any property of the estate in the hands of the representative […]
§3-703. General duties; relation and liability to persons interested in estate; standing to sue 1. General duties. A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of […]
§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 […]
§3-705. Duty of personal representative; information to heirs and devisees Not later than 30 days after appointment every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representative was appointed on the assumption that […]
§3-706. Duty of personal representative; inventory and appraisal 1. Duty to file or mail inventory. Within 3 months after appointment, a personal representative who is not a special administrator or a successor to another personal representative who has previously discharged this duty shall prepare and file with the court or mail to all interested persons […]
§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 […]
§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 […]
§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 to it […]
§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 that 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 […]
§3-711. Powers of personal representatives; in general Until termination of the personal representative’s 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 […]
§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 the personal representative’s fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust. The rights of purchasers […]
§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, agent or attorney, or any corporation or trust in which the personal representative has a substantial beneficial interest, or any transaction that is affected by a substantial conflict of interest on the […]
§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’s power was properly exercised. The fact that a person knowingly deals with a personal representative does not alone require the person to […]
§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 and subject to the priorities stated in section 3-902, a personal representative, acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may properly: [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 […]
§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 may not exercise any power expressly made personal to the executor named in the […]
§3-717. Corepresentatives; when joint action required If 2 or more persons are appointed corepresentatives 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 corepresentative receives and receipts for property due the estate, when […]
§3-718. Powers of surviving personal representative Unless the terms of the will otherwise provide, every power exercisable by personal corepresentatives may be exercised by the one or more remaining after the appointment of one or more is terminated, and if one of 2 or more nominated as coexecutors is not appointed, those appointed may exercise […]
§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 […]
§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, the personal representative or nominee is entitled to receive from the estate necessary expenses and disbursements including reasonable attorney’s fees incurred. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, […]
