Estate Administration and Post-Death Practice
A natural extension of the client relationship — with a different set of required skills
Estate Administration Extends the Planning Relationship Into a Different Practice
Estate administration is the process of settling a decedent's affairs: gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the remainder to beneficiaries. The estate planning attorney who drafted the decedent's documents is often asked to assist with administration — a natural extension of the client relationship that requires a different set of skills, a different practice workflow, and a different approach to the attorney-client relationship (now with the personal representative and the estate's beneficiaries).
Not all assets are subject to probate: Assets that pass by beneficiary designation (life insurance, retirement accounts, POD accounts) pass directly to the named beneficiary outside probate. Assets held in a revocable trust pass under the trust terms. Assets held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship pass to the surviving joint tenant. A well-funded revocable trust can eliminate or substantially reduce the assets subject to probate, allowing administration entirely through the trust without court supervision.
The Personal Representative's Fiduciary Obligations
- Locate and secure all estate assets
- Provide required notice to creditors (procedure and timeline are state-specific)
- Pay valid claims and debts
- File the decedent's final income tax return
- File any required estate tax return (Form 706) and any applicable state estate tax return
- Distribute the remaining estate to beneficiaries in accordance with the will or applicable intestacy statute
The portability election requires specific attention: Form 706 is required for estates with a gross estate exceeding the filing threshold — but the portability election for a surviving spouse's benefit must be made on a timely filed Form 706 even if no estate tax is owed. The nine-month deadline (or the extended deadline under an automatic extension) is strict. A surviving spouse who might benefit from the portability election years in the future must make the election now, based on a return filed within the deadline.
Trust Administration After Death
When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at the grantor's death, the successor trustee's obligations begin: gathering trust assets, giving required notices to trust beneficiaries (required by the UTC and most state trust codes), paying the grantor's debts and expenses from trust assets as directed, coordinating with the personal representative of the probate estate, addressing any estate tax obligations, and distributing trust assets in accordance with the trust terms. AI can help develop the comprehensive administration checklists and timeline documents that guide the successor trustee through this process.
Ready-to-Use Prompts
Adapt for specific client matters. All tax figures require verification against current primary sources before any client use.