WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ADMINISTRATOR AND AN EXECUTOR?
When a person dies without a will, the person appointed by the surrogate’s court to collect and distribute the decedent’s assets and to pay the decedent’s debts, including funeral expenses and taxes, is called the administrator. When a person dies with a will and that will is offered for probate, the person appointed by the court to perform the same duties as an administrator is called an executor. While an administrator receives letters of administration from the court and is required to distribute the decedent’s assets in accordance with the intestacy laws of New York, the executor receives letters testamentary from the court and is obligated to distribute the decedent’s assets in accordance with the wishes set forth in the will.
