For a simple estate with few assets whose beneficiaries are in agreement about how the assets are to be distributed, estate administration can be as short as several weeks following the decedent’s death (although estate and final lifetime income tax returns may need to be filed in the months following the decedent’s passing). However, for more complex estates or cases where beneficiaries or other persons contest a decedent’s will or other aspects of the estate administration, it can greatly lengthen the process of estate administration due to the need to engage in a formal accounting and other litigation associated with the dispute.