SECTION 3-107 Uniform Probate Code. SCOPE OF PROCEEDINGS; PROCEEDINGS INDEPENDENT; EXCEPTION

SECTION 3-107 Uniform Probate Code. SCOPE OF PROCEEDINGS; PROCEEDINGS INDEPENDENT; EXCEPTION. Unless supervised administration as described in [Part] 5 is involved,
(1) each proceeding before the court or Registrar is independent of any other proceeding involving the same estate;
(2) petitions for formal orders of the court may combine various requests for relief in a single proceeding if the orders sought may be finally granted without delay. Except as required for proceedings which are particularly described by other sections of this [article], no petition is defective because it fails to embrace all matters which might then be the subject of a final order;
(3) proceedings for probate of wills or adjudications of no will may be combined with proceedings for appointment of personal representatives; and
(4) a proceeding for appointment of a personal representative is concluded by an order making or declining the appointment.

Comment

This section and others in Article III describe a system of administration of decedents’ estates which gives interested persons control of whether matters relating to estates will become occasions for judicial orders. Sections 3-501 through 3-505 describe supervised administration, a judicial proceeding which is continuous throughout administration. It corresponds with the theory of administration of decedents’ estates which prevails in many states. See, Section 62, Model Probate Code (1946). If supervised administration is not requested, persons interested in an estate may use combinations of the formal proceedings (order by judge after notice to persons concerned with the relief sought), informal proceedings (request for the limited response that nonjudicial personnel of the probate court are authorized to make in response to verified application) and filings provided in the remaining Parts of Article III to secure authority and protection needed to administer the estate. Nothing except self-interest will compel resort to the judge. When resort to the judge is necessary or desirable to resolve a dispute or to gain protection, the scope of the proceeding if not otherwise prescribed by the Code is framed by the petition. The securing of necessary jurisdiction over interested persons in a formal proceeding is facilitated by Sections 3-106 and 3-602. Section 3-201 locates venue for all proceedings at the place where the first proceeding occurred.