How to Be a Personal Representative for an Estate

When a person passes away, the property and debts that person carried at the time of death becomes that person's "estate." To facilitate distribution of the assets and to ensure that any creditors of the decedent get paid, the personal representative of the estate oversees the estate's administration. Personal representatives must act in the best interests of the estate and comply with the wishes of the decedent. Often, a will appoints a person to act as the personal representative. This appointment is not valid until the court orders someone to act as a personal representative. Petition the probate court if you want to be a personal representative for an estate.

• 1

  Read the decedent's will to discover who, if anyone, was appointed to act as the personal representative for the estate. If you are named, file a motion with the probate court and attach the will to this motion. The motion must simply state that the decedent named you and that you want the court to appoint you to act as the personal representative for the estate. If you were not named in the will, continue through the steps.

• 2

  Speak to the person appointed to act as the personal representative. Ask if she wants to resign in favor of you acting as the representative. If so, she must file a motion with the probate court describing that she does not want to act in her capacity and ask the court name you as the representative.

• 3

  Speak to the beneficiaries in the will and express your desire to act as personal representative for the estate. If there is no will, or if the will does not name a personal representative, the decedent's beneficiaries can agree to name someone as the personal representative. If they agree, they can file a motion with the court asking to name you as the personal representative of the estate.

• 4

  Petition the court to remove the existing personal representative or otherwise appoint you to act as the personal representative. If no one can agree on who to appoint as personal representative, or if you believe the existing personal representative is not acting in the best interests of the estate, you can file your own motion asking the court to hear arguments as to why you should be the personal representative. If the court grants your motion, it can appoint you as the personal representative.