What is a Personal Representative of an estate settlement?

Question

What does a Personal Representative of an estate settlement do? Are they the ones that cuts the checks from an estate settlement? Or does the lawyer do that?

Answer 1

A personal representative is the more modern term for the executor of the estate.

The role of the executor is to handle property distribution according to the terms of the will, as established by the probate court. This could oftimes include selling property for its value, and/or "cutting checks" form the estate to handle general monetary bequests.

The executor may be an attorney, but this is not required.