What is Summary Administration?

Probate is no fun – right? Who wants to deal with the courts when you are trying to get your hands on the assets you are entitled to when someone passes? Wait, aren’t you supposed to be mourning that person’s death and not worrying about how much money you are going to get? In a perfect world, that is what would happen, but we all know how money hungry everyone is these days. If you are trying to avoid probate court and tying up assets that you are entitled to for 6 months to a year, you might have the ability to do so with summary administration – but that is only if you meet the requirements.

For those people that did not settle an estate for more than two years after a loved one passes, summary administration is possible. But honestly, who waits more than 2 years to settle an estate? Maybe it is those that know their own inheritance is going to be grandma’s old quilts and figurines – that makes sense. But for those that are getting more than supposedly sentimental artifacts, they might not want 2 days let alone 2 years to go by. In these cases, the assets that would go probate (through the court) cannot be worth more than $75,000 to be eligible for summary administration.

So what is summary administration? In essence, it is a shortcut to the probate system. Hooray for shortcuts! So now you need the executor of the will; wait, there isn’t an executor? Okay, then a person that will be inheriting assets will need to file a Petition for Summary Administration. What’s the kicker? Every beneficiary needs to sign the petition. That might be easier said than done, when was the last time you saw every beneficiary get along after a loved one’s death? It usually gets pretty ugly – do you really want to go down that road?

So once you get through the headache of getting everyone to sign the Petition for Summary Administration, which honestly, who wouldn’t want to – it’s a way to get their money faster; you then have the property released to the beneficiaries. It’s that simple, well that simple after you have everyone agree to sign the petition; that part I am unable to help you accomplish.

So, for those people with inheritances from grandma or a long lost aunt that do not own huge mansions or bank accounts overflowing with money, you might be able to skip the whole probate process and get your money a little faster.