14-3703. General duties; relation and
liability to persons interested in estate; standing to sue
A. Except as provided in the will of the decedent, a personal representative is a
fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees as described by
sections 14-10804 and 14-10806 and the duties of accounting applicable to trustees as
provided in section 14-10813, subsection C. A personal representative is under a duty to
settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of any
probated and effective will and this title, and as expeditiously and efficiently as is
consistent with the best interests of the estate. The personal representative shall use
the authority conferred by this title, the terms of the will, if any, and any order in
proceedings to which the personal representative is a party for the best interests of
successors to the estate.
B. A personal representative shall not be surcharged for acts of administration or
distribution if the conduct in question was authorized at the time. Subject to other
obligations of administration, an informally probated will is authority to administer and
distribute the estate according to its terms. An order of appointment of a personal
representative, whether issued in informal or formal proceedings, is authority to
distribute apparently intestate assets to the heirs of the decedent if, at the time of
distribution, the personal representative is not aware of a pending testacy proceeding, a
proceeding to vacate an order entered in an earlier testacy proceeding, a formal
proceeding questioning the personal representative's appointment or fitness to continue,
or a supervised administration proceeding. Nothing in this section affects the duty of
the personal representative to administer and distribute the estate in accordance with
the rights of claimants, the surviving spouse, any minor children, any dependent children
and any pretermitted child of the decedent as described elsewhere in this title.
C. Except as to proceedings that do not survive the death of the decedent, a
personal representative of a decedent domiciled in this state at death has the same
standing to sue and be sued in the courts of this state and the courts of any other
jurisdiction as the decedent had immediately prior to death.
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