Personal representatives are fiduciaries charged with administering a decedent’s estate, but this must occur within the confines of the law. Before assets can be distributed to heirs, all allowable creditors must be addressed and/or paid. The first step is to notify all known creditors directly and publish a notice to all possible unknown creditors. Later, what are a personal representative’s duties to both the estate and the creditors?

Your supervising attorney, Millard Smart, has asked you to draft a letter on his behalf to Joan Blake, a client recently appointed as a personal representative. The letter should outline Joan’s fiduciary duties to creditors of the estate. Use Texas statutes to assist with the preparation of the letter.