Monday, September 26, 2011

In a San Mateo County Probate Sale What is a Personal Representative?

There is often confusion about who does what in a probate sale so today I am going to write about the Personal Representative.

When a person dies they either leave a will (or a trust)  which names an executor for their estate, or die without a will (or a trust) and therefore no executor.

If there is no trust then the estate must be probated. The probate court determines who will be the personal representative for the estate. The duties of the personal representative are very similar to an executor, but ultimately everything they do has to be approved by the probate court. If an executor has been named in a will then that person can petition to be the personal representative, but the court has to approve.
Once appointed the personal representative can ask for full authority to sell any real property but that is not always granted depending on the circumstances. If the personal representative gets full authority to sell the house then they can accept an offer just like an executor would in a trust sale. It does not have to go to court for confirmation and overbids, but the distribution of the funds is overseen by the court.

If you have any questions about trust or probate sales in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer C.D.P.E.
www.marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

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