Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: Personal Representative and Beneficiary

If you were appointed Personal Representative of your Mom's estate by the Probate Court, then you have the authority, with the approval of the Court, to sell the condo and to deal with other assets of the estate, such as certificates of deposit. You must follow the proper procedure before you can distribute assets or income, and it is best to get court approval before you make any mistakes. You should have counsel, the estate will pay for you to have an attorney.

Re: Personal Representative and Beneficiary

Approval of the court is not necessarily required, but you must act in a way to protect yourself as well as the beneficiaries and creditors. You are taking some risk in handling this without representation by an estate attorney, since you are a layman and are not familiar with all the tricky aspects of handling an estate if not done properly. Even attorneys go to seminars where they learn pitfalls and traps in estate cases to avoid.

Collection of the bank accounts is not difficult at all if you do it right.

We offer free, no obligation consultations which can be arranged at 480.835.1500, and handle probates in all Arizona counties.

For more free information see our blog at JenkinsLawCenter.blogspot.com

Best regards,

James D. Jenkins