The Personal Representative may not distribute to heirs and legatees until an Administration Account that contemplates those distributions is audited and Approved by the Court. Distributions may occur no sooner than 20 days from the date a Judge’s Order is docketed with the Clerk of the Court. This 20-day waiting period allows heirs and legatees time to file any Exceptions they may have to the Administration Account.
If anyone files Exceptions to the Account, this will likely result in a re-audit of the Account. If the audit does not cause changes to the Account that satisfy the Interested Person who filed the Exceptions, there will likely then be a hearing before a Judge to resolve the matter.
Generally, the Personal Representative should distribute the Estate within 30 days following the 20-day waiting period. Note that on rare occasion, an heir or legatee may have a legitimate hardship. If that becomes the case, and if a reasonable premature distribution is sought, the Personal Representative must file a Petition with the Court requesting the Court’s permission to do so.