No Administration Necessary

When an individual has died intestate and there has been no personal representative appointed in this state, any heir of the decedent may file a petition praying for an order that no administration is necessary. The petition shall be filed in the probate court of the county of the domicile of the decedent, if the decedent was domiciled in this state, or in the county in which real property is located, if the decedent was not domiciled in this state.

Requirements

To begin the process, a Petition for No Administration Necessary must be filed with the Court. The Initial Filing Fees must be paid upon filing the petition. The petition has to be completely filled out, including a complete listing of each and every heir of the deceased, each heir’s age (or over 18), address and relationship to the deceased. NOTE: If you need help determining who are the heirs, you may use the “Heir Determination Worksheet”.

You must list any personal and/or real property owned by the deceased, and describe the property, including account numbers, vehicle ID numbers, and legal description of any real estate. You must make a list of creditors that have not acknowledged and consented to the petition, complete with addresses. You will need to have all heirs acknowledge and consent to the petition and sign the “Agreement” page of the petition, which designates who receives property and what percentage they receive. The heirs’ signatures must be notarized.

Court Process

Once the Petition is filed and the filing fees paid, the petition is docketed and assigned a file number. The court reviews the Petition for deficiencies, and contacts the Petitioner if further information is needed to properly complete the petition. The Court prepares citation as needed, prepares any required notice, and has the notice published or served. There are additional costs for notices to be served and/or number of times to run publication. This petition can be signed without a hearing if no objection (Caveat) is filed.

The filing fees for the petition must be paid at the time the petition is filed with the Probate Court. The Probate Court accepts cash, money orders, or personal checks made payable to “Bryan County Probate Court.” Any balance of court costs must be paid prior to the Order being issued.