For example I want to write "Professor Neville died, but I am going to ask his wife Virginia Neville, who is acting as is _____, to forward you his confidential letter of reference that he wrote for me before before he died".
Learn English – word for a person who officially “takes over” for someone after they die
single-word-requests
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Best Answer
The exact title of the person who officially “takes over” for someone after they die depends on how they become responsible for this task:
If the deceased has left a will and named a person to act on behalf of the estate, then this person is the executor ;
if the deceased has died intestate, and a person has been appointed by court to administer the estate, then this person is the administrator of the estate.
A common term that may be used for both types is legal personal representative - however, there are also other types of personal representatives, e.g. a legal guardian.
Note that this may vary by jurisdiction. These terms are generally used in common law jurisdictions.
With all that said, I don't think you need the official title - at least not in the given example, where in most likelihood you would not even know what that title is, nor would the recipient care. You could simply write: