For many years the New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published articles regarding the settlement of a New York estate. When a person dies and leaves a Last Will and Testament, the Will must proceed through the probate process to become validated and enforceable. A probate petition is filed in…
The appointment of an Executor or Administrator of an estate begins the process of the settlement of an estate. An Executor is appointed when a decedent leaves a Last Will and Testament which has been admitted to Probate in the Surrogate’s Court. There are Surrogate’s Court’s throughout New York State…
A Last Will and Testament is an important document since it is meant to express in writing a person’s disposition of his estate. A Will is an embodiment of a testator’s intentions. The document may contain many different provisions and dispositions of assets. For example, there may be legacies…
The recent news regarding the alleged murder of entertainment personality Rob Reiner and his spouse, Michele, by their son, Nick Reiner, was startling. One of the immediate questions which arose is what could motivate Nick, the son of such well-known parents, to allegedly cause them deadly harm. An insight into…
Obtaining a divorce and creating an Estate Plan seem at first to be two separate unrelated activities. However, on more than one level, a divorce or contentious matrimonial situation leads directly to the need for effective planning of an estate and possible probate or estate litigation. Of course, in a…
For many New York estates, real estate is the most valuable asset. This is true whether a decedent dies with a Last Will and Testament or Intestate (without a Will). If a Last Will exists, the person nominated as Executor has the task of petitioning the Surrogate’s Court to admit…
The settling of a decedent’s estate in New York may involve multiple issues. At the outset, a determination needs to be made as to whether a decedent died intestate (i.e. with a Last Will and Testament) or intestate (no Will). This determination then governs as to whether a Probate proceeding…
When the term Guardianship is referred to, a general perception is that someone is appointed to take charge of the affairs of an individual who is incapable of handling his own matters. While this general perception is accurate, it does not really identify the existing Guardianship laws and procedures which…
The assets which may be owned by a Decedent can take many forms. There may be financial items such as bank accounts or brokerage accounts. These can be pure savings held in a Decedent’s name or retirement savings in the form of Individual Retirement Accounts, a 401K or other pension…
Time and again situations arise where the circumstances and proceedings concerning an Article 81 Guardianship and estate litigation in the Surrogate’s Court intersect. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published many articles concerning the topics of Guardianship and litigation in estates. At the core of any Article 81 Guardianship…