Who is a person’s personal representative?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Who is a person’s personal representative?
The father of my daughter passed away. His sister signed and sent to the coroner’s office a relinquishment of rights as next of kin. Is this relinquishment only to take care of final arrangements for the deceased or does it also make me personal representative of his estate? I have never dealt with anything even close to this and feel pretty lost. What do I do and where do I go from here?
Asked on January 20, 2012 under Estate Planning, Colorado
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. One would need to read the papers involved here to let you know for sure what is going on. But it sounds as if she did not want to deal with the issue of his final arrangements and hasnothing to do with his estate.But you also need to know thatif he died with out a Will and left a child or children, those "issue" as they are called would probably inherit everything under state law. You need to "apply" to the court to be the personal representative of his estate and the funeral bill will be something that has priority for payment from estate proceeds. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.