Estate

• When a person dies, all his property and assets become part of his estate. The estate has its own taxpayer identification number and the executor must file a tax return for the estate for each year it continues to exist. You have to probate many of the assets, which means going to court to pass the assets to heirs after the estate pays all the debts of the deceased. You don't probate all estate assets, like those with a named beneficiary. In most cases, houses or other real estate does not have a named beneficiary. The executor handles the matters of the estate.
  
  

Executor

• An executor is a person named in the will to handle the matters of the estate. Some of these tasks include paying bills, doing the final tax return of the deceased and the estate tax return, paying property taxes, making certain property goes to the appropriate people and paying for property insurance if necessary. If there is no will, the probate court appoints an administrator of the estate according to each state's mandated distribution orders. In most cases, after the spouse, those closest in blood relationship receives the assets.
  
  

Joint Tenancy Assets

• Besides those with a named beneficiary, some joint tenancy assets also pass unprobated. There are different types of joint tenancy designations. Joint tenancy in common and joint tenancy with rights of survivorship are the most common. In joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, when one of the joint tenants pass, the other joint tenant(s) receive his share of the asset. There is no division of the asset by percentage of ownership. The remaining tenants own an undivided interest in the property and pay all bills, including insurance. If the deceased owned property as a joint tenant in common, he owned a specific percentage of the property and his share becomes part of the estate. If the asset is a home, the estate pays the deceased's portion of insurance and property tax.
  
  

Transfer on Death

• If the property passes to a designated person via a transfer on death designation, then that person is responsible for taking care of all debts and payments involving the property. She now owns it because of the designation. However, if the transfer to heirs is through the will, the estate holds the property, and the executor or the person appointed by the executor to handle the estate payments, in many cases an attorney, makes the payment. Probate can take a long time and vary according to the instruction of the will and assets. However, most estates close within four to six months.