Every person added to an estate matter can be assigned one or more roles. These roles determine what information is collected and how the person relates to the estate. This article covers the roles on Probate and Trust Administration matters. For Estate Planning matters, see Estate Planning Matters in EstateMin.
đ„ The Roles
âDecedent
The person who has died. There is one decedent per matter. Fields include County of Residence, Date of Death, SSN, Marital Status, US Citizen, Occupation, and Place of Death.
âPersonal Representative - Executor
A person named in the will to administer the estate. Fields include Relationship to Decedent, Named in Will, Convicted Felon, and Willing to Serve.
âPersonal Representative - Administrator
A person appointed by the court to administer the estate when there is no will or no executor is available. Fields are the same as Executor.
âBeneficiary
A person who receives assets from the estate as specified in the will. Fields include Relationship to Decedent, Alive or Deceased, Is Minor, and Guardian Name.
âHeir
A person entitled to inherit under state law. This may differ from beneficiaries named in a will. Fields are the same as Beneficiary.
âGuardian for Minor Children
A person named to raise and care for minor children.
âGuardian for an Adult
A person named to make personal decisions, such as care and living arrangements, for an adult who cannot make them alone.
âSpecial Needs Trustee
A person or entity named to manage a trust for someone with a disability without affecting their public benefits.
âWitness
A person who witnessed the signing of the will. The key field is Known to Be Alive.
âTrustee
A person who manages assets held in a trust.
đșïž Role Labels by State
Some role labels follow the matter's state. For example, the trustee role for someone with a disability may appear as Special Needs Trustee or Supplemental Needs Trustee, and the guardian role for an adult may appear as Guardian for an Adult or Conservator. Hover over the info icon next to a role in the person form to see its description.
đ Multiple Roles
A single person can hold more than one role. For example, a child of the decedent could be both an Heir and a Beneficiary. When multiple roles are assigned, all role-specific fields for each role will be displayed.
đĄ Good to Know
The single Guardian role has been replaced by Guardian for Minor Children and Guardian for an Adult. It can no longer be assigned to new people, but anyone who already held it keeps it and still shows Guardian in the People table. To switch them to one of the new roles, open the person and change their role.
If a client submitted a person with the old Guardian role before the change, you can still approve it.
đŹ Need Help?
Use the chat bubble in the lower-right corner of EstateMin or email [email protected] for support.