The responsibilities of an estate administrator can involve some financial liability, and you could face some expensive consequences if you mismanage the estate during the probate process.
According to MarketWatch, administering the estate correctly includes protecting it while it is under your care.
Real estate
Until you close out the estate, the property belongs to it and not to the beneficiaries. So, it is your job to look after the house and its surrounding property for the months (or even years) that it takes to go through probate. That includes keeping it insured and maintained.
You may need to prepare the house for sale so that you can pay all the debts or so you can divide the proceeds among the beneficiaries. If so, you will likely need to have it appraised, and you may need to approach the probate court for assistance if repairs are necessary. You do not have to pay for these, but you need to ask before you spend any of the estate assets on the house.
Assets
During the days and weeks following the decedent’s death, beneficiaries and other family members may become impatient or worry that someone else will get something that they particularly want. One of your first duties is to take a complete inventory of the estate. Then to protect the estate you may need to change the locks on the house so that no one else has access, or place valuable items in storage. You may even need to hire security.
Although the beneficiaries may become impatient, your job is not to keep them happy. All you need to do is fulfill your duties carefully so that you can distribute assets according to the will’s instructions.