Section 5.12 General Rule

• Library: Estate Administration 2014 Supp

B. (§5.12) General Rule

A supervised personal representative has no authority to continue the business of a decedent absent a court order or specific direction or power conferred on the personal representative under the decedent’s will. To the contrary, a personal representative has an affirmative duty to close out a decedent’s business when it is “unprofitable or burdensome.” In re Estate of Mills, 162 S.W.2d 807, 812 (Mo. 1942).

The statutory powers granted an independent personal representative, on the other hand, include the authority to “[c]ontinue any unincorporated business or venture in which the decedent was engaged at the time of...