Executor Duties in Nebraska

The personal representative is a fiduciary who must settle and distribute the estate as expeditiously and efficiently as is in the estate's best interests. The clerk of the court publishes notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks, starting within 30 days after appointment; claims are barred unless presented within two months after first publication. Within three months after appointment, the representative must file an inventory at date-of-death fair market value with the court and send copies to interested persons who request it. An unsupervised estate may be closed by verified statement no earlier than five months after appointment, after creditor notice has run and the estate has been fully administered and distributed, with an account to distributees.

Estates are opened in the county court. A personal representative must be appointed by order of the court or the registrar, qualify, and be issued letters; administration begins when letters are issued. To qualify, the representative files any required bond and a statement accepting the duties of the office. A bond is required unless the will waives it, all heirs or devisees file written waivers, the representative is a bank or trust company, the petition alleges the estate qualifies for summary procedures, or another listed exception applies; the court may still order a bond to protect an interested person.

Claims that arose before death must be presented within 2 months after the first published notice to creditors (a late creditor may ask the court within 60 days after that deadline for up to 30 more days for good cause). If proper notice is never given, the limit is 3 years after death. Claims arising after death generally must be presented within 4 months after they arise.