Final Accounting - Estate Administration

The administrator or executor of an estate must do a final accounting prior to distribution to the beneficiaries.  The final accounting can be done formally, ie. filed with the court, or an informal family settlement agreement can be used.  Even in the informal accounting, all assets and expenditures must be addressed. 

A question was posed regarding signing a waiver and release which holds the administrator and the attorney harmless for any mistakes or errors as part of receiving a distribution from the estate. The waiver seemed overly broad and there were concerns about signing.

First, you should be clear regarding what you are signing and that may mean you have your own independent legal review of the waiver you are being asked to sign.  In many cases, such waiver can be modified to be more limited in scope since generally a broad one is used even in cases where its application is not appropriate. 

For expert estate administration advice and guidance, contact us at http://www.ythlaw.com/