The document that matters is the letters, testamentary if there's a will naming her, of administration if there isn't. Until those are issued nobody has authority to convey, and whether a contract signed before appointment binds the estate or has to be ratified after appointment is a state law question your borrower's attorney should answer in writing before you commit a rate lock to a 45 day close.
The title exception is the practical center of this. Ask the title company directly which documents delete it: usually the letters, the order authorizing sale if the state or the letters require one, and evidence that required notice went to heirs and creditors. Some states run independent or full-authority administration where the personal representative sells without a hearing. Others require court confirmation, and a couple allow overbidding at that hearing, which can vaporize your borrower's contract entirely.
Creditor claims reach you through title, not through your note. Claims properly presented in the statutory window can be enforced against estate assets, and some states pursue Medicaid estate recovery, so a sale that closes before that window ends may close with the exception still in place or with the company insuring over it. Get the exact wording of what they'll delete versus insure over, in writing, before you fund.
One more piece your loan docs should account for: a personal representative's deed generally conveys without warranties, so the policy is your only recourse if an omitted heir or a later will surfaces. And 45 days assumes letters issue on schedule. Appointments routinely take two to four months, longer if an heir objects, so build the extension and don't release any rehab draw before you have the recorded deed and mortgage back in hand.
