Once you file your documents with the Register of Wills, they will be routed to the New Proceedings Division within the office. New Proceedings will inspect the documents for accuracy and to be sure they have been prepared correctly and provide all necessary information. It is not uncommon, especially when attempting to file for Probate without the assistance of an attorney, to receive your documents back from the Register of Wills with a New Proceedings Deficiency Notice detailing any errors and/or omissions, or requesting additional documents or information. If you have received a Deficiency Notice, or any other Notice from the Register of Wills, you might want to CONTACT US for a free 15-minute consultation or visit our FIND AN ATTORNEY Page.
Once the New Proceedings Division determines that all of your documents and Petition are in order and all appropriate supporting documentation has been submitted, the Register of Wills creates and mails Letters of Administration along with other documents regarding responsibilities, due dates, and the Statutory Order of Priority of Payments. They will also send notifications to all Interested Persons to alert them that an Estate has been opened and that you have been appointed as Personal Representative.
In some instances, the Register of Wills does not appoint a Personal Representative or issue Letters of Administration. Often, this is because the next step in the process may be what is known as Judicial Probate. Judicial Probate occurs in instances where a hearing must be held and a Judge must make a ruling prior to opening Probate and appointing a Personal Representative. One common reason is caused by the decedent having died Intestate (without a Will) and the family cannot agree on, and Consent to, who will serve as Personal Representative. Another common reason for Judicial Probate may be caused by the inability to locate the original Will with original signatures. Here again, often a hearing is held and a Judge rules on whether to admit and Probate the copy of the Will. The Judge may also set Bond of Personal Representative, rather than require only a Nominal Bond.
Letters of Administration vest the Personal Representative with the authority they require to lawfully go about discovering and marshaling estate assets, settling debts of the decedent, selling property, vehicles and other tangible personal property, prepare and file Inventories and Administration Accounts and more. It is important to remember that your appointment as Personal Representative makes you the Fiduciary for the estate. The role of a Fiduciary, you may recall, was discussed at length earlier in this guide.