2025 Session Last amended: 1986 session

§ 524.3-1003 — Closing Estates; by Sworn Statement of Personal Representative

Plain-Language Summary

This section lets a personal representative close an estate (outside supervised administration) by filing a sworn closing statement with the court no earlier than four months after the original appointment. The statement confirms that notice to creditors was published, that the estate has been fully administered (claims, expenses, and taxes paid or otherwise arranged for), and that a copy of the statement and a full written account were sent to the distributees and remaining known claimants. If no proceedings involving the personal representative are pending one year after the closing statement is filed, the personal representative's appointment terminates and the letters of appointment expire.

Practical Notes
Closing an estate this way is a streamlined alternative to supervised administration. The personal representative must wait at least four months after appointment and complete full administration before filing the sworn closing statement, and must send a copy plus a written accounting to the distributees and any unpaid known claimants. The appointment does not end immediately on filing: the personal representative’s authority continues, and the letters stay in force, until one year after the closing statement is filed, at which point the appointment terminates if no proceedings are pending.