A personal representative or executor administering an estate accepts many responsibilities. They also have to uphold a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the estate. That means they have an obligation to act in the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries.
That duty leads to other obligations. The personal representative needs to maintain or even improve the value of estate resources for the sake of beneficiaries. Personal representatives also generally need to take steps to prevent the misappropriation of estate resources. A failure to secure assets could lead to attempts to remove the personal representative or hold them accountable for the diminished value of the estate.
What assets require protection?
Some estate resources are easy for people to steal. An adult child who acted as a caregiver could have a key to their parents’ home. They might let themselves inside and collect various valuable items. High-value personal property such as antiques, wristwatches, jewelry and even collectibles are easy for people to remove from the residence of a recently deceased person.
Personal representatives may need to change the locks at a residence or empty a rented home before the landlord attempts to clear the property and rent it to someone else. Cataloging valuable assets and storing them in a secure location is one way to protect against theft attempts by family members, neighbors and opportunistic strangers who learn about an individual’s death.
Securing real property is also another important consideration. If the decedent owned a home or a vacation property, limiting who can access it is critical. Personal representatives want to prevent friends and family members from removing items. They also need to secure the property to prevent some vagrants from committing property crimes there.
Managing the estate’s resources is also important for their protection. Assets like real property can drop in value if they sit vacant or sustain damage due to criminal conduct. Other resources may also require active management, such as financial investments.
Personal representatives generally need to identify high-value resources and learn about what is necessary to preserve or increase their fair market value. The larger and more complex the estate is, the easier it is to make mistakes and oversights when managing estate resources. Personal representatives who have support while managing and securing resources can limit their liability during estate administration.