The rights of a surviving spouse have been safeguarded in various provisions of the New York Estate Law. For example, when a person dies without a Last Will his estate is distributed according to the laws of intestacy. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Section 4-1.1 provides that the intestate…
Article 81 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) is entitled “Proceedings For Appointment of a Guardian for Personal Needs or Property Management”. Under this statute, a Guardian can be appointed for a person who is found to be incapacitated. A determination regarding incapacity must be based upon clear…
The estate fiduciary is responsible to collect and protect estate assets. These assets may be bank accounts, retirement funds or brokerage accounts. In many estates the most valuable estate is the decedent’s residence which can be a single family home or a cooperative apartment or a condominium unit. The New…
An estate in New York is administered by an Executor or Administrator. These Surrogate’s Court appointees have a fiduciary obligation to collect the decedent’s assets and also to resolve or pay all estate debts and obligations. It is not always easy when a person dies for the estate fiduciary to…
Most people prepare their estate plans and Last Wills and expect that the provisions and directions they set forth can be carried out after death. The rationale for planning an estate is to avoid intestacy which would leave to chance the manner in which an estate is to be distributed.…
The execution of a New York Will must comply with the requirements of the estate statutes. It is important to follow these rules so that the Will be validated and admitted to probate. There have been numerous posts in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog explaining the need for the…
A decedent may leave many types of estate assets. Some of these items that are held in the decedent’s name alone will be payable to the executor or administrator as part of the administration estate. Other assets such as life insurance or pension proceeds may be payable to designated beneficiaries.…
When a fiduciary is appointed to administer a decedent’s estate, one of the main objectives is to collect and protect a decedent’s assets. Thus, Administrators and Executors typically search through the decedent’s papers and records to learn about the decedent’s financial estate. In most cases it is rather straight forward…
When a person dies it is common to refer to matters dealing with the decedent as issues concerning his “estate”. However, it is important to learn exactly what is meant by a person’s estate”. Upon death, an individual typically owns various assets. These may include real estate, bank accounts, brokerage…
The preparation and execution of a Last Will in New York requires careful attention to detail. When a Will is being formulated a New York Estate lawyer typically obtains information from a testator regarding assets and intentions concerning beneficiaries. Since the purpose of estate planning is to insure that a…