People who create estate plans often select their own executors or personal representatives. Other times, the probate courts may appoint people to serve in that role after an individual passes. Regardless of who selects the personal representative, they have obligations to fulfill. Personal representatives have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries or heirs who may inherit resources from the estate.
They have obligations under the law during estate administration. Those obligations include submitting estate planning paperwork to the courts, properly managing estate resources and communicating with interested parties. The people expecting to inherit from an estate may notice that the personal representative has failed to secure resources, communicate with creditors, arrange for probate court hearings or otherwise fulfill their responsibilities. Their inaction can lead to a cascade of consequences, ranging from creditor claims to a reduction in the value of estate resources.
How can beneficiaries or heirs protect their inheritances when personal representatives don’t fulfill their obligations?
Litigation may be necessary
As briefly mentioned above, personal representatives have a fiduciary duty during estate administration. They should act in the best interests of beneficiaries or heirs. People can breach that duty through malice and misconduct, such as embezzlement from the estate.
They can also breach that duty through inaction or incompetence. The failure to follow appropriate probate procedures can lead to an increase in estate expenses. Inept management of estate resources can be enough to significantly diminish what beneficiaries or heirs eventually inherit.
If there has been an untenable delay during probate proceedings due to inaction on the part of the personal representative, concerned parties can ask the courts to intervene. A failure to fulfill obligations is one of the many scenarios in which the probate courts may remove a personal representative from their role. In cases where their inaction has caused provable economic harm to the estate, they may even be liable for the impact of their failures.
Documenting a personal representative’s actions, or lack thereof, and discussing the matter with a lawyer familiar with Washington state probate statutes can help concerned parties preserve estate resources. A timely lawsuit can potentially replace the personal representative at issue and limit the harm that their inaction causes to the estate in question.