A loved one of yours died through the carelessness or negligence of another, including a business. Since the law will not allow a deceased individual to be named as a Plaintiff in the case, a representative, usually a family member, must serve as an administrator of the estate. As I have written before, becoming an administrator or executor of an estate is not really a big deal. Most of it is just a matter of us helping you fill out forms in the correct way to open up the estate, going with you to the Register’s office in the Courthouse to have the estate opened up and making an advance payment of any fees that are associated with the process.
The other question is who serves as the administrator or executor of the estate. There is one slight difference between an executor or administer who opens an estate and lives in Pennsylvania and one who does not. An out-of-state personal representative must post a fiduciary bond to serve in that capacity. There are, of course, some exceptions like if it specifically states in the deceased’s will that no bond shall be posted and other circumstances like that, but the law is basically what is stated above.
Is it an issue determining who should be the administrator or executor of the estate? Maybe that does become an issue if it is being contested as to who should serve in that capacity. A judge would have to likely think about the ease of the person serving as the administrator who lives in the county or state where the estate is raised. That is not the case for an out-of-state representative. As a practical matter, how would they be able to travel to the host state to carry out their responsibilities?
Of course, if an individual who lives out of state wants to serve as an administrator or executor of the estate and all the other family members are in agreement for a wrongful death case, that can certainly be accomplished.
Pittsburgh wrongful death, auto accident and slip and fall attorney Bernie Tully has helped numerous individuals open up an estate in a wrongful death and survival action. We provide all the paperwork that is necessary for you to be designated as the representative of the wrongful death case. Then it is just a matter of us making sure that the paperwork is filed properly so that the process is done legally. We would also help you with opening up the estate in terms of publishing that information in a newspaper. Often times it is required to also publish the notice of you being named as the executor or administrator of the estate, so that if anyone wishes to contest it, they may. That is a legal requirement that can’t be avoided. However, nothing usually comes of that process.
Our goal is to do all the work necessary in order to make your life as easy as possible during this difficult time. We are very sensitive to what you, as a loved one of the deceased, are going through and we make every effort to help you in your wrongful death and survival claim.
We would be happy to meet with anyone for a FREE consultation to go over this and see how we can best help you open an estate in a wrongful death and survival action.
Thanks for reading.
Bernie the attorney