Personal Representative

Maine Personal Representative Lawyer

A Maine personal representative lawyer is an advocate for you when you have questions around serving in the role of estate executor. An executor or personal representative is the person appointed by the court or through the will to manage the affairs of the deceased person as it relates to closing out probate.

What Does a Personal Representative in Maine Do?

Gathering of the probate assets, notifying creditors about the opening of the estate in probate, paying out claims and taxes and then distributing what is left over to beneficiaries are the primary roles taken on by a personal representative. If you have never served in this capacity, however, you might have questions that can only be answered by a Maine personal representative attorney. A personal representative attorney in Maine can give you clarity over whether your intended approach and the checklist you’re using to keep track of all of your tasks is going to cover you and protect you in these circumstances.

You deserve to have answers to your questions and it is imperative that you get support sooner rather than later. A personal representative also has to keep beneficiaries of the estate up to date about actions that are being taken. This can include things like letting them know when the primary aspect of probate has been dealt with and that they are to receive an asset shortly.

A personal representative in Maine also has to shepherd and safeguard the assets owned by the deceased party going through probate for the duration of probate. In streamlined circumstances, probate can be completed relatively quickly, such as in a matter of a few months.

In these circumstances, the person most likely did all of their estate planning well in advance and left things easy for you to handle. But what if the person didn’t do any estate planning at all or has assets located in multiple different categories and in multiple different states? This can make it hard to track down the details you need to carry out probate and this can delay the process.

Common Problems with Personal Representatives and Beneficiaries

Unfortunately, tensions often arise between personal representatives and beneficiaries. A personal representative has a vested interest in protecting their own concerns and the beneficiaries want to know what’s going on with the case. When communication is failing between these different parties, it might fall to the support of an outside personal representative attorney to evaluate the confusion and provide a neutral voice of support for one or more parties. Unfortunately, when these circumstances cannot be rectified, this can lead to litigation over the estate or over probate. In those circumstances, it’s often very stressful for the personal representative and it is hard for them to navigate through this knowing that their family relationships could be harmed. As a result, some personal representatives want to have the support of an experienced lawyer well before a problem even arises in their case so that they know they have someone to turn to if and when allegations of improper activity or simple confusion over what’s going on with the estate impeded the personal representative’s ability to make progress.

You are not expected to be an expert at probate simply because you were named in a loved one’s estate. If you are concerned about serving in this role and want to make sure you do it to the best of your ability, it is strongly recommended that you retain an attorney prior to accepting the role or as soon as possible after that fact as you can.