Administrator of Probate Estate

When is an Estate Administrator Needed?
When a person dies with a valid will naming a person/entity as "personal representative" (formerly "executor" or executrix") and the person/entity named does not assume that role (by choice, death, or incapacity). The decedent's will almost always names a personal representative and a successor personal representative responsible for managing a decedent's estate. If the named personal representative is dead, cannot serve, or does not want to serve in that role, then the successor personal representative named in the will would be responsible for managing the estate. If that person/entity is dead, cannot serve, or does not want to serve in that role, then the Alabama Code sets out who has priority to be appointed as Administrator.

When an individual dies without a valid will, Alabama Code §43-2-42 provides the order of priority for the appointment of administrators. Alabama law sets the following order of priority.
Counties with a population of less than 400,000 according to the most recent federal census have the following priorities:
  1. The husband or widow.
  2. The next of kin entitled to share in the distribution of the estate.
  3. The largest creditor of the estate residing in this state.
  4. Such other person as the judge of probate may appoint.
Counties with a population of +400,000 people according to the most recent federal census or counties with an elected general or county administrator, have the following priorities:
  1. The husband or widow.
  2. The next of kin entitled to share in the distribution of the estate.
  3. The largest creditor of the estate residing in this state.
  4. The county or general administrator.
  5. Such other person as the judge of probate may appoint.
What are the Timelines or Deadlines for Filing for Letters of Administration?
This is a complex question. The deadline for applying for Letters of Administration is only time sensitive If a husband/widow, next of kin, creditor, or county administrator wants to be the Administrator of an estate based on their priority preference in the Alabama statute referenced above. That priority must be claimed within 40 days of the date of the death, or that priority right is deemed relinquished, or waived, in other words, by virtue of Alabama Code §43-2-43.