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GlossaryProbateInherited property

Personal representative

2 min read
Short answer
A personal representative is the person appointed by the Minnesota probate court to administer a decedent's estate. Most states say executor; Minnesota does not. The appointment is evidenced by letters, and without them nobody has authority to sell estate property, sign a deed, or deal with a lender.

A personal representative is the person appointed to administer a deceased person's estate: collecting assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains.

Minnesota uses that term throughout. Executor is what most other states say, and what appears in wills drafted elsewhere — but the letters, the statutes and the deeds all say personal representative here.

Authority comes from the letters#

The appointment is evidenced by letters issued by the probate registrar or the court. Until they exist, nobody has authority to act for the estate.

That has practical consequences that arrive early and stop transactions.

A purchase agreement signed by a family member before letters issue binds nothing. A deed executed without authority conveys nothing reliable, and a title examiner will catch it. A lender or servicer will not discuss a decedent's mortgage with someone who cannot produce letters.

The first step in dealing with an estate that owns property is therefore getting someone appointed, and it is frequently delayed for months while a family works out who should do it.

What the role actually involves#

Identifying and securing the assets — which for real property means keeping it insured, keeping the taxes paid, and keeping it maintained.

Notifying creditors and dealing with claims.

Filing what has to be filed, including tax returns.

Selling property where the estate needs to, or where the will directs it.

Distributing the remainder and closing the estate.

The insurance problem#

Worth its own mention because it catches nearly every estate with a house in it.

A standard homeowners policy is written for owner-occupancy. An empty inherited house passes the policy's vacancy period — commonly thirty or sixty days — after which coverage for vandalism, glass and water damage is restricted or excluded.

The policy keeps renewing and keeps taking premiums, and covers very little of what an empty house actually suffers.

A personal representative who does nothing else about the property should at least establish whether it is genuinely insured.

Fiduciary duty#

The role carries obligations to the estate and to the beneficiaries, and a personal representative who mismanages assets can be personally liable.

That matters where family members disagree. A representative who sells to a relative below market, or who lets a property deteriorate while a dispute runs, is exposed regardless of how reasonable it seemed at the time.

Who serves#

Usually the person named in the will. Where there is none, or the named person cannot or will not serve, the court appoints someone following a statutory order of priority.

Anyone appointed should keep records from the first day — of every payment made, every asset located, every decision taken. Reconstructing that later, under challenge, is considerably harder.

Common questions

Is a personal representative the same as an executor?
Functionally yes. Minnesota uses personal representative in its statutes, on the letters, and on any deed the estate signs. Executor is the term most other states use and it appears in wills drafted elsewhere.
Can a personal representative sell the house?
Only with authority, which comes from the letters and from the terms of the appointment. A buyer's title company will want to see the letters, and a purchase agreement signed by someone without them binds nobody.
What if the named person cannot or will not serve?
The court appoints someone else, following the statutory order of priority. A named person can decline, and someone who has already begun acting can be removed where they are not performing the duties properly.
Keep reading
Letters testamentary
The court document evidencing a personal representative's authority to act for a Minnesota estate, required by title companies, lenders and banks.
Probate real estate sale
The sale of property from a Minnesota estate by the personal representative, subject to the authority granted in the letters and the terms of appointment.
Probate
The court process that settles a deceased person's estate, required in Minnesota for real estate held in the decedent's name alone whatever its value.