subject: Choosing Estate Administration As A Career [print this page] Perhaps you are wondering what is involved in becoming and being an estate administrator. It is not nearly as grand as the fine job title would lead you to believe. As a good example, even if you call him a "Sanitation Engineer", the guy who picks up your trash is still a garbage collector. Before you make an important career decision, you should do some research to see if estate administration is really the right job for you.
Is estate administration really as glamorous as the title makes it sound? Perhaps not, you be the judge. The court will appoint an estate administrator to watch over the distribution of the assets of a person who has passed away. This may happen whether there is a will or not. If there is a dispute, the fact that there is no will only makes things more difficult.
There is more than one job for an estate administrator. Any debts that remain must be paid. You must liquidate assets to cover debts if there is not enough cash. If you are unable to behave in an impartial manner, you cannot be a good estate administrator. If the case is on the way to the court of appeals to be resolved, this is particularly true. It may take years for a decision to be made, and the administrator must simply wait. You should hope never to have this sort of problem.
If you are a member of the dispute, you should understand that the administrator is not your enemy. Because the judicial system appointed the administrator, he or she must remain impartial. It's a hard job. You shouldn't make it harder by behaving badly. When disputing a case, professionalism and calm are the words of the day.
As with any career decision, think it through thoroughly, and do your research before you decide you want to be an estate administrator. If you tend to have hurt feelings, you should not become an estate administrator. Sometimes you have to be the "bad guy", so this is not the right job for everyone. Or, if you are thick-skinned, this may be the career you have always dreamed of. Find out what estate administration is really about before settling on it as a career choice.
