A nominated executor's state of residence is irrelevant to appointment as executor.
Full Question:
Answer:
As a general rule, neither Virginia nor any other state requires that a nominated executor or executrix (male and female Latin terms) of a will reside in the same state as the maker of the will. All state courts routinely and regularly appoint and interact with out-of-state executors and executrixes and other court-appointed fiduciaries. Many testators and testatrixes (male and female makers of wills) nominate out of state executors or executrixes and other fiduciaries.
As a general rule, the executrix's lawyer must be licensed to practice in the state in which the decedent's estate is being probated, but the executrix may live anywhere in the world. So, in the situation you describe, if your parents (residents of Texas) nominate you, their daughter (a resident of Virginia) as executrix of their (joint) will or wills, then you would have to retain a Texas lawyer as your attorney in the probate of your parent's estates.
Fiduciary Law & Legal Definition.
A fiduciary is someone who owes a duty of loyalty to safeguard the interests of another person or entity, such as a trustee of a testamentary trust, a guardian of the estate of a minor, a guardian, committee or conservator of the estate of an incompetent person, an executor of a will, an administrator of the estate of a decedent or an advisor or consultant exercising control over a testamentary or express trust.
A fiduciary may be an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, curator, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for the benefit of creditors, partner, agent, officer of a corporation, public or private, public officer or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity for any person, trust or estate. Fiducairies may be required to hold funds and assets in a special fiduciary account and file periodic acounts and/or inventories with the court. A fiduciary has a duty not to benefit at the expense of the one they are responsible for. A fiduciary must avoid "self-dealing" or "conflicts of interests" in which the potential benefit to the fiduciary is in conflict with what is best for the person who trusts him or her.
Fiduciary Bond Law & Legal Definition
A fiduciary bond provides insurance protection against the possibility of fraud or embezzlement by a fiduciary. A fiduciary is someone who owes a duty of loyalty to safeguard the interests of another person or entity, such as a trustee of a testamentary trust, a guardian of the estate of a minor, a guardian, committee or conservator of the estate of an incompetent person, an executor of a will, an administrator of the estate of a decedent or an advisor or consultant exercising control over a testamentary or express trust. A bond is an obligation, expressed in writing, to pay a fixed and liquidated sum on the happening or nonoccurence of a specified condition or event.
For example, state laws, which vary by state, may require an executor to post a bond in a certain amount to ensure that they carry out all the duties required of them in good faith. A bond may be an insurance policy required by a court for the benefit of a trust or an estate. The will maker may request in the will that no bond be required.
Fiduciary Deed Law & Legal Definition
A fiduciary deed is a deed used to transfer property when the grantor is acting in his official capacity as a trustee, guardian, conservator, or executor, etc. A fiduciary deed typically only warrants that the fiduciary is acting in his appointed capacity and in the scope of his/her authority and doesn't guarantee the title of the property. Fiduciary deeds are governed by state laws, which vary by state, and may provide an exemption from transfer taxes for fiduciary deeds.
The following is an example of a state statute dealing with fiduciary deeds:
§ 629. STATUTORY FORM OF FIDUCIARY DEED
A deed in substance following the form appended to this section shall, when properly executed and delivered, have the force and effect of a deed in fee simple to the grantee, the grantee's heirs and successors, and assigns, to the grantees and their own use, with covenants on the part of the granting fiduciary, for that fiduciary, that at the time of the delivery of the deed, that the fiduciary had made due application to the appropriate probate court for the purpose of securing authority to convey the property, that the application was duly published according to law, and that the probate court licensed and authorized the fiduciary to sell at public auction or private sale the real estate that is the subject of the deed and that the fiduciary had previously taken the oath required by law and fulfilled all the requirements of the statute, and of the license of the probate court, and pursuant to the license and the authority set out above, and not otherwise, that the real estate is conveyed, and that the fiduciary is duly authorized by the probate court to convey the property in a manner and form set out above, and that the fiduciary has in all things observed the direction of the law and the provisions of the license and that the fiduciary, for the fiduciary and the fiduciary's heirs, executors, and administrators shall warrant and defend the premises against all persons claiming the premises by, from, or under the decedent or ward, or the fiduciary, but against no other person.
Executors and Administrators Law & Legal Definition.
Executors and administrators are the representatives of decedents' estates and have the responsibility of administering and settling those estates. An executor is nominated by the testator for the purpose of executing the will. Responsibilities include gathering up and protecting the assets of the estate, obtaining information in regard to all beneficiaries named in the will and any other potential heirs, collecting and arranging for payment of debts of the estate, approving or disapproving creditor's claims, making sure estate taxes are calculated, forms filed and tax payments made, and in all ways assisting the attorney for the estate. An administrator is the court-appointed representative of an intestate estate and is responsible for administering and settling the estate pursuant to the state statutory rules of descent and distribution. Responsibilities include gathering up and protecting the assets of the estate, obtaining information in regard to all beneficiaries named in the will and any other potential heirs, collecting and arranging for payment of debts of the estate, approving or disapproving creditor's claims, making sure estate taxes are calculated, forms filed and tax payments made, and in all ways assisting the attorney for the estate.
Estate Law Law & Legal Definition.
The term "estate" has different meanings in legal terminology. In one usage, estate may mean all the possessions of one who has died and are subject to probate administration supervised by the court and distribution to heirs and beneficiaries. The Uniform Probate Code has shaped state law in this field. It includes provisions dealing with affairs and estates of the deceased and laws dealing with specified nontestamentary transfers (transfers not through a will), like trusts and their administration. Since its creation, over thirty percent of states have adopted the Code substantially in whole.
Since many individuals neither set up trusts nor execute wills, state intestate succesion laws are an important complement to trust and estate law. They determine where an individual's assets go upon death in the absence of a will.
Estate may also refer to all the possessions which a guardian manages for the ward whose protection and administration of affairs they are responsible for. It may also mean the assets a conservator manages for a conservatee (a person whose physical or mental lack of competence requires administration of his/her affairs). Another usage of the term estate refers to a class of real property interest, such as "life estate," "estate for years," or "real estate."
Probate Law & Legal Definition.
Probate the process of proving a will is valid and thereafter administering the estate of a dead person according to the terms of the will. It is a judicial act or determination of a court having competent jurisdiction establishing the validity of a will. First the will is filed with the clerk of the appropriate court in the county where the deceased person lived, along with a petition to have the court approve the will and appoint the executor named in the will (or if none is available, an administrator) with a declaration of a person who had signed the will as a witness. If the court determines the will is valid, the court then "admits" the will to probate.
Probate is a general term for the entire process of administration of estates of dead persons, including those without wills, with court supervision. The initial step in the process is proving a will is valid and then administering the estate of a dead person according to the terms of the will. The will must be filed with the clerk of the appropriate court in the county where the deceased person lived, along with a petition to have the court approve the will and appoint the executor named in the will. If an executor is not named in the will, an administrator is appointed. A declaration of a person who had signed the will as a witness is also filed. If the court determines the will is valid, the court then "admits" the will to probate.
Even if there is a will, probate may not be necessary if the estate is worth no more than a stated dollar value or is small with no real estate title to be transferred or all of the estate is either jointly owned or community property. The probate process involves fees set by statute and/or the court (depending on state laws) for attorneys, executors and administrators, the need to publish notices, court hearings, paperwork, the public nature of the proceedings and delays while waiting for creditors to file claims, whether money was owed or not.
Trusts in which all possessions are managed by a trustee, making lifetime gifts, or putting all substantial property in joint tenancy with an automatic right of survivorship in the joint owner are methods of avoiding probate of assets. Even if there is a will, probate may not be necessary if the estate is under a defined statutory value with no real estate title to be transferred or all of the estate is either jointly owned or community property. Another function of probate is to provide for the collection of any taxes due by reason of the deceased's death or on the transfer of his or her property. Reasons for avoiding probate are the fees set by statute and/or the court (depending on state laws) for attorneys, executors and administrators, the need to publish notices, court hearings, paperwork, the public nature of the proceedings and delays while waiting for creditors to file claims even when the deceased owed no one.
