Justia Lawyer Rating for Jose Noriega
Superlawyer Badges
AV Preeminent Badge
AVVO Rating 10.0 - Top Attorney Criminal Defense
AVVO Rating 10.0 - Top Attorney Personal Injury
AVVO Top Contributor - Criminal Defense
AVVO Clients' Choice - Car Accidents
AVVO Top Contributor - Family
AVVO Clients' Choice - Criminal Defense
BBB

Can the Judge Remove Administrator of the Estate?

When a person passes and leaves a will, anyone that is named as a beneficiary in that will can file to have the will probated and the executor listed will be appointed administrator. If there is no will, any of the legal heirs may do so. When filing without a will, a personal representative is named by the court to handle the estate's accountings. This representative has a fiduciary duty to the estate and if those duties are mishandled, the court can remove the representative.

Some of the duties that are listed in the Texas Estates Code include, but are not limited to: a duty of fair dealing, loyalty, and good faith and to act with integrity, a duty to use reasonable care to preserve and maintain the estate, and a duty to avoid delegating acts that the personal representative is personally required to perform. To only name a few.

If the personal representative is not diligent about implementing these duties, the court can have them removed. Texas Estate Code Section 361.052 lists the circumstances when a personal representative can be removed: the representative (1) has misapplied, embezzled all or a part of the property entrusted to the representative's care; (2) fails to return any account required by law to be made; (3) fails to obey a proper order of the court; (4) is guilty of gross misconduct or mismanagement in the performance of the representative's duties; (5) becomes incapacitated, is sentenced to the penitentiary, or from any other cause, becomes incapable of properly performing the duties of the representative's trust, or (6) fails to make a final settlement by the third anniversary of the date letters testamentary or of administration are granted, unless the period is extended by court on a showing of sufficient cause supported by oath or timely filed affidavit or certificate required under section 308.004 of the estates code.

The courts do no take these duties lightly and if they are violated the administrator can be removed, just as in the Dallas 5th Court of Appeals case, In the Estate of Brian Matsuo Sakima.

In that case, the administration began in 2011, by 2018 the administrator had yet to settle the accounts of the case, nor file a proper accounting. The court show caused the administrator on three occasions to appear in court with an accounting, but the administrator never did so. For these reasons, the probate court ordered the removal of that personal representative and appointed another.

Again, you can see the importance of having a will. If you draft a will, you will be able to specify who your personal representative, or executor will be. That way, you can choose a person that is responsible and able to adequately manage your estate. Without a will, any legal heir to your estate can file to be the representative. So, say you have a rogue son who can't handle the $10 in his bank account, he could possibly be the personal representative of your whole estate! Don't let that be something your family has to deal with, give us a call today!

Client Reviews
★★★★★
Guest and Gray law firm is wonderful. I have had the chance to work with three of the lawyers and they all have been wonderful. They will tell you when you need a lawyer and when you don't. They actually try to save you money. They respond very fast to questions and try to help you understand what is going on. They are caring and are really judgment free. If I needed a lawyer again I would use this firm in a second and recommend them. K.K.
★★★★★
I used Guest and Gray to deal with my ex wife's accusations of child neglect.I dealt with Robert Guest and Tracy Gray. Both were excellent attorneys and surpassed every expectation I had in fighting the false accusations. We Won ! M.B.
★★★★★
I used Guest & Gray for a child custody case and they were great. I was really nervous about the case but they took care of everything and answered all my questions. I would recommend their services to anyone. J.R.
★★★★★
I can highly recommend Guest and Gray. I have worked on a number of cases with Robert Guest and and Scott Gray and find it amazing how MOTIVATED they are to do everything they can for their clients, not to mention that there superior knowledge, etc. In criminal cases supportive relatives always want to know "what can I do" to help. Hire Guest and Gray. C.S.