The person responsible for taking care of Mom’s affairs can be a child or another relative or even a non-relative. It depends on what documents Mom has in place. If she left a will and the total value of her assets (her estate) exceeds a certain amount then a probate proceeding may be required. If that is the case, then the Probate Court will determine who is the administrator (or executor) and that individual will be the responsible party.

If Mom had a trust then the trust document itself should have named it least one successor trustee whose job is the settling of Mom’s trust and estate.

If Mom had no documents leaving instructions then a Probate Court will assume the oversight of the estate settlement and will select an individual as administrator.