Administrators

• Estates can include personal property, real property, bank accounts, vehicles, stocks, bonds and life insurance policies. The estate executor or administrator is responsible for using the estate's assets to pay the deceased person's outstanding debts. He must also file applicable state and federal tax forms. If the estate must go through probate, the executor or administrator is responsible for filing the necessary paperwork. Once probate is complete, the executor or administrator must distribute any remaining property to the beneficiaries of the estate.
  
  

Fees

• Most states allow estate executors and administrators to collect a fee if they process the estate correctly. Guidelines differ by state, but most states allow executors and administrators to charge a fee equal to a small percentage of the estate. However, an executor or administrator can only collect a fee from the estate on the income it generates. He can't collect fees from beneficiaries listed in the will or from the deceased person's relatives.
  
  

Insolvent Estates

• An insolvent estate is an estate that doesn't hold enough assets to cover its debts. Insolvent estates don't usually go through probate. Instead, the executor or administrator must pay the estate's debts in order of importance. Most states require the estate to pay administration fees first, followed by funeral expenses, medical bills from the deceased person's final illness, unpaid wages, taxes and money owed to creditors.
  
  

Considerations

• An executor or administrator can't force a beneficiary to pay his commission. However, the executor or administrator will receive his portion of the estate before distributing property to beneficiaries, so the administration fees may reduce a beneficiary's inheritance. A beneficiary who hires an attorney and willingly pursues probate for an insolvent estate must pay the administration fees that the assets of the estate don't cover.