Milliemche,
I can answer some of that.
Executorship is a huge job. It takes a lot of time, effort, organization, and money. It's not the kind of task most people would want to do on top of an already busy life, Plus, Since an executor is likely someone close to you, the job comes coupled with grief from the loss of a loved one. A dear friend of mine was named executor of one of her friends estates, and it took the better part of the year to finish all the legal and administrative tasks needed to close the estate. In all truthfulness, it's not a job you really want to burden one of your friends or relatives with, but someone's got to do it.
In my mother's case, before she passed, we vetted and assembled a team consisting of the fiduciary and a lawyer. She lived on the East Coast, I live on the West Coast. With this helpful team in place, it was very easy to manage a good portion of the task remotely from the opposite coast.
I, of course, flew immediately to her town when the time came, and I spent three weeks doing those things that required in-person meetings. Many of those tasks could have been done remotely as well, but a lot of them I could do myself, and not pay somebody else to do for me.
Once I returned home, the fiduciary and the lawyer were able to handle all the rest of the tasks to get the estate closed, and sell the property she owned.
Per your question, Closing the estate took approximately eight months, and everything passed outside of probate with the exception of a vehicle and her personal possessions.
It was streamlined with those two "on the ground" in my mother's town. I was so thankful that my mother set up this team to help when the time came, because when you're dealing with grief it's very difficult to get these things done. And very difficult to even know what to do. And of course bureaucracy wants things done in a certain order in a certain way and if you do it wrong it'll set you back months. I was very happy to pay for the professional help. But I confess it did not come cheap-- but it was worth every penny for getting the job done smoothly and efficiently.
Hope that helps
-The Pigeon, who misses her mommy.