Estate Administration: Probate Through Closing
A sequenced administration framework: appointment, marshalling, creditor claims, tax filings, fiduciary liability, distribution, and discharge.
What this guide covers
- The personal representative is the client; document that the beneficiaries are not, at the outset and in writing.
- Secure assets and insurance in week one, and order enough certified letters at appointment to avoid repeat trips.
- Give actual notice to reasonably ascertainable creditors; publication alone does not bar a known claim.
- Do not distribute ahead of federal tax claims: 31 U.S.C. 3713 imposes personal liability on the fiduciary who does.
- File the estate tax return if portability is wanted, and choose deliberately between IRC 2053 and IRC 642(g) treatment of administration expenses.
- Close with an accounting, releases, and an adequate reserve rather than on informal family agreement.
The full guide includes the detailed analysis, worked examples, statutory citations, and related resources below.
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Educational reference, not legal advice. Prepared for licensed professionals as general reference; not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. Law varies by state and changes over time — verify transfer-tax figures and statutory citations against current primary authority. This resource was last updated 2026-09-18. Estateur is not a law firm.