Formal administration

What it means

Formal administration means the court decides the contested points: who serves, whether the will is valid, whether an account should be approved.

It is required where there is a dispute, where the will is unclear or missing, where a minor or an incapacitated person has an interest, or where the personal representative wants the protection of a court order.

It is slower and more expensive, and that buys finality: an order entered after notice and a hearing is much harder to reopen.

Why it matters

Families sometimes end up here without choosing it, because one relative objects or because a required signature cannot be obtained.

It is also sometimes worth choosing. An executor who expects a challenge is safer with court approval than without it.

When you are likely to meet it

• When the will is contested or missing.
• When heirs cannot be found or will not agree.
• When a personal representative wants approval before distributing.

How this varies by state

When formal administration is required rather than optional is set by state law.

Related terms

• Compelled accountA court order that makes a fiduciary produce the books, obtained by somebody with an interest in the estate.
• Estate accountingA statement of everything that came into the estate and everything that went out, presented before the estate can be closed.
• Independent administrationAdministering an estate without the court supervising each step — and it is granted in opposite ways in different states.
• Informal probateProbate handled administratively by a court official rather than by a judge, where nobody is contesting anything.
• ProbateThe court process that confirms who has authority to deal with what somebody owned when they died.
• Probate bondAn insurance policy a court can require, protecting an estate against the person running it.
• Probate courtThe court that supervises estates. In many states it is a division of a general trial court and goes by another name.
• Special administratorSomebody appointed to do one urgent thing before a full appointment exists.
• Summary administrationA shortened court procedure for smaller or simpler estates, with fewer steps and less supervision than full administration.
• Waiver of noticeA signed form in which somebody entitled to be told about a court step agrees they do not need to be told.
• Will contestA formal challenge to whether a will is valid, brought in the probate court by somebody who would be affected if it were not.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Do you need a probate lawyer?