Open an estate with the probate court. Then follow the intestacy laws for your jurisdiction.
No. You must be a court appointed fiduciary.
Once it is filed in the probate court. Until then it is private.
Apply to the probate court. The forms typically have a place where someone can ask to be appointed as executor. Consult a probate attorney in your jurisdiction for specifics.
Open an estate through the probate court. They can be appointed the executor. Consulting a probate attorney for your location is a good idea.
Yes. If it has been admittted to probate it is a public record and open to inspection by anyone. Go to the probate court where the will was probated and ask to see it or to get a copy of it (for a fee, of course).
If there are no assets to be probated he can withhold it. If you think he is withholding it unreasonably, then open up probate yourself so the judge can ask him to produce it for court.
Petition the court to open an estate in probate. That makes sure all of the legal requirements are met and taxes paid.
No and no.
No, you cannot open probate solely to collect a debt from an estate. Probate is the legal process by which a deceased person's assets are distributed to beneficiaries and debts are paid. However, if you are owed a debt by the deceased, you can file a claim against their estate during the probate process to receive payment.
You open an estate with the probate court. The executor of the estate can issue the deed to those who inherit.
Probate can be a long process. At a minimum it will take about 4 months. Anything under a year is considered pretty timely. There are some estates that are still open after decades of work.