How long does it take to close an estate?
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How long does it take to close an estate?
A relation passed away intestate. When she died, the family decided to appoint a person rep, a brother. He was appointed over a year ago. Other than disposing of a few personal possessions, paying funeral costs and dividing up money that was left between the 8 heirs there was nothing else to do. It is now 13 months later. How long reasonably should it take for the money to divided up and the estate closed? As the person is getting paid to be personal rep they would keep the estate open indefinitely. It seems as though 13 months is enough time as she didn’t have millions, stocks, other property, etc.
Asked on March 20, 2017 under Estate Planning, Massachusetts
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. Generally speaking, the length it takes to probate an estate depends on the complexity of the assets involved. Creditors, however, generally have a year to come forward with claims so 13 months is not really an unreasonable amount of time to wait to make sure that the funds distributed would not be subject to a claim. I would send a letter asking status now that the year has passed and see what happens. Good luck.
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