A probate estate must be opened in the county of the decedent’s domicile within one (1) year after the decedent’s death. This usually means that an applicant must apply for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration within that time and administer the estate consistent with the Will’s directives and/or with the statutory intestacy scheme. What…
Legal Articles
Probate Bonds & Estate Administration
One of the more unfavorable aspects of probate in Missouri is the bond requirement. In short, before an applicant receives Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary to become personal representative of a decedent’s estate, Missouri law requires that ” [the personal representative] shall execute and file a bond […] procured at the expense of the…
Probate Missouri Personal Representative (Executor, Administrator)
Under Missouri Law, the Personal Representative is the individual appointed to administer and wind-up a decedent’s estate. This is essentially the same thing as an “administrator” or “executor” in other states. A court’s issuance of either Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration will allow a personal representative to take charge of an estate. Before making…
Missouri Small Estate Administration — Probate
There are in fact instances when probate is not a complete pain. Under Missouri law, if a decedent’s estate is worth (1) less than forty-thousand dollars ($40,000), (2) formal Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (or other Letters) are pending or are refused, (3) the personal representative submits an affidavit taking on personal responsibility for…
Estate Planning Attorney in Saint Louis, Missouri
There’s no time like the present. Although this adage rings true in many different circumstances, it rings especially true for estate planning and probate. Under Missouri law, if you pass away without a will, trust, a payable on death arrangement, or any other testamentary instrument, then your estate will be subject to probate and the…
Probate Attorney: St. Louis
Probate refers to the type of courts which primarily handle the estates of those that have died (“decedents”). The probate courts are designed to as “efficiently” (some clients would say I use that term loosely) to handle claims against a decedent’s estate by creditors and then transition assets out of the decedent’s estate to his/her…
Letters of Administration with Will Annexed
Letters testamentary are issued by the probate court to a person appointed to be personal representative of an estate under a will. Letters of administration are issued when there is no will (when the person died intestate). There is a statutory scheme that gives priority as to who to grant letters of administration to (e.g.,…
Refusal of Letters — When Probate is Not Required
A Probate Court is not obligated to grant a petition for Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (see my post on Letters Testamentary and Letters of Administration for the distinction). Pursuant to 473.090 RSMo the Probate Court may refuse the grant of letters on a number of grounds. The insufficient estate value basis is one…
Letters Testamentary and Letters of Administration
A deceased individual is referred to as a “decedent” in the eyes of the law. In Missouri, the administration of a decedent’s estate takes place (1) in the county of the decedent’s domicile (basically, his or her home), (2) if the decedent did not have a domicile, then any county where he or she owned…