Executor Duties in Idaho

The personal representative may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks; creditors then have the deadline stated in the notice (generally four months after first publication). Within three months after appointment, the representative prepares an inventory with date-of-death fair market values and encumbrances, sends it to interested persons who request it, and may file it with the court. After paying claims and distributing the estate, the representative may close an unsupervised estate by a sworn closing statement filed no earlier than six months after appointment, or by court order.

Probate is handled by the district court (magistrate division) in the county where the decedent lived. A person seeking appointment files an application for informal probate or appointment with the court, or a petition for formal proceedings; letters testamentary (with a will) or letters of administration (without one) are issued after appointment and acceptance. Priority goes to the person named in the will, then a surviving spouse who is a beneficiary, other beneficiaries, the surviving spouse, other heirs, a creditor (after 45 days), and the public administrator. Bond is generally not required in informal proceedings unless the will requires it or an interested person demands it. Most proceedings must start within three years after death.

If notice to creditors is published, claims must be presented within four months after the first publication or they are barred. A known creditor who is mailed or handed written notice has until the later of four months after publication or 60 days after the written notice. If no notice is given, pre-death claims are barred three years after death.