Description
Preside over probate court matters involving estates, wills, trusts, guardianships, and conservatorships. Adjudicate disputes, appoint and oversee fiduciaries, authorize transactions, and ensure compliance with probate statutes and fiduciary duties; may perform wedding ceremonies.
- • Admit wills to probate and determine their validity.
- • Appoint personal representatives, executors, administrators, guardians, and conservators.
- • Issue letters testamentary or of administration and related orders.
- • Oversee estate inventories, accountings, and distributions.
- • Hear and decide will contests and capacity or undue influence challenges.
- • Determine heirship and beneficiaries' rights under statutes and instruments.
- • Adjudicate and prioritize creditor claims against estates.
- • Approve, modify, or deny fiduciary bonds, fees, and commissions.
- • Authorize sales, transfers, or encumbrances of estate property.
- • Interpret wills, trusts, and other probate documents.
- • Enforce fiduciary duties; sanction or remove fiduciaries for cause.
- • Rule on admissibility of evidence and procedural motions in probate matters.
- • Conduct hearings and bench trials; instruct juries where permitted.
- • Resolve disputes among heirs, beneficiaries, and fiduciaries.
- • Establish and review guardianships and conservatorships; determine incapacity.
- • Set reporting requirements and review annual and final guardianship accountings.
- • Appoint guardians ad litem or counsel to protect minors and incapacitated persons.
- • Issue temporary or emergency orders to preserve assets or protect vulnerable persons.
- • Issue subpoenas and compel production of documents and testimony.
- • Write orders and opinions and maintain the court record.
- • Supervise probate court staff and manage dockets and calendars.
- • Perform wedding ceremonies.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
