What Are The Rights Of Estate Beneficiaries?

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If you have been named as a beneficiary of an estate, the last thing you should do is sit idly by while you wait for your inheritance. You will want to take the time to learn your beneficiary rights so you will be better equipped to play an active role in administration and detect if your rights are being violated. If the beneficiary rights violations are severe, it may be necessary for you to seek the help of a lawyer to sue the executor of the estate.

Estate beneficiaries have important rights to not only protect against their inheritances being stolen or squandered but also to ensure that the worth of the estate is not compromised before the executor/administrator can distribute assets.

Estate beneficiaries should remember that executors and administrators are fiduciaries. In other words, they are required to act in the estate beneficiaries’ best interests at all times. For instance, executors and administrators are subject to a duty of impartiality, which means that they cannot favor certain beneficiaries over others. Executors and administrators are likewise subject to an absolute duty of loyalty; their personal interests should never be placed above those of the estate or estate beneficiaries.

If executors are not ethical or diligent in carrying out their duties, estate beneficiaries should reach out to an estate lawyer, who can help them sue the executor. The courts can be utilized to compel the executor to provide beneficiaries information about administration, as well as accountings. If the problems with the executor are beyond fixing, the lawyer can petition the court to try to have the executor/administrator removed and potentially surcharged.

Even though estate beneficiaries have broad rights, it is important for them to remember that executors and administrators are not necessarily required to involve them in every decision they make. If estate beneficiaries want to have a say in estate-related decisions, it is essential for them to play an active role in administration and stay apprised of what is happening at every step of the process.

As an estate beneficiary, it is in your best interest to thoroughly understand your beneficiary rights so you can recognize if they are being violated. Without actively taking steps to enforce your rights over the course of administration, you risk not receiving the inheritance to which you are entitled. In this video, Keystone Law Group’s Partner Lindsey Munyer reviews the six most important rights of an estate beneficiary.

0:00 Introduction
0:16 Beneficiaries have the right to contest a decedent's will
0:55 Beneficiaries have the right to be kept reasonably informed about administration
1:27 Beneficiaries have the right to try to suspend or remove the executor and surcharge them
2:28 Beneficiaries have a right to recover any estate property that was lost, damaged or unlawfully taken by another party
3:15 Beneficiaries have a right to take control of any payable-on-death or transfer-on-assets they were designated upon the dependents death
3:56 Beneficiaries have a right to receive preliminary distributions even before the administration is completed
5:26 Closing and Contact