Removing A Personal Representative From A Probate Case
Not every probate case includes a will, but they always involve a personal representative. The personal representative is responsible for following the instructions in the will to distribute the estate to beneficiaries, but only after settling the decedent’s outstanding debts and filing a final tax return on behalf of the estate. If the decedent does not have a will, the petitioner who presented the estate to the probate court is usually the one the court designates as personal representative. Of course, being a personal representative of a deceased person’s estate is a thankless job, to put it mildly. Is the personal representative listed in the will obligated to take on the job, even if he or she does not want it? How can you remove the personal representative of an estate if he or she is not fulfilling the duties successfully? If you are a reluctant personal representative of an estate, or if you are the beneficiary of an estate that the court-appointed personal representative is mismanaging, contact an Orlando probate lawyer.
What If the Personal Representative Listed in the Will Does Not Want the Job?
Estate planning lawyers are always grumbling about how people should review their wills every year and update them to reflect any changes, but most people do not do this. Therefore, by the time the will gets to probate, the will may be woefully out of date. If the personal representative listed in the will is too elderly and infirm to handle the responsibilities of probate, the judge may appoint someone else. If the will does not list a successor personal representative, it is the judge’s choice who to appoint. Another scenario where the court may appoint someone other than the personal representative named in the will is if the originally designated personal representative has moved out of Florida, making him or her ineligible for the role.
If the will lists you as a personal representative, but you do not want the job, the best time to refuse is before the court officially appoints you. If you accept the role officially, but you find yourself overwhelmed with the job, it is possible to withdraw from your position as personal representative, but only with the court’s permission.
Can Someone Else Remove the Personal Representative?
If the beneficiaries of the will are unhappy with the personal representative, they can petition the court to remove him or her and appoint a new personal representative, but they must show that there is a valid reason for doing this. The personal representative must do worse than simply being difficult to get along with. The beneficiaries who wish to remove the personal representative must show that the will that designated him or her is legally invalid or that the personal representative has breached his or her fiduciary duty through mismanagement of the estate.
Contact Gierach and Gierach About Personal Representative Trouble
A probate lawyer can help you resolve problems involving a troublesome or unwilling personal representative. Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/Index.cfm/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.502.html#:~:text=733.502%20Resignation%20of%20personal%20representative,not%20jeopardized%20by%20the%20resignation.
