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…
The settlement of an estate in New York invariably involves the kinship of a decedent. Whether the proceeding concerns the probate of a Last Will or an intestate administration, the Court requires full and specific information regarding the decedent’s next of kin (known as “distributees”). In a probate case, the…
Creating an estate plan in New York involves preparing a number of different documents. These papers may include a Last Will or Living Trust. There may also be other documents associated with a person’s assets such as bank accounts, life insurance policies and retirement funds like Individual Retirement Accounts and…
Estate litigation in the Surrogate’s Court is common. There are many different types of proceedings where parties engage in conflict. Probably the most well-known area of litigation in an estate is a Will Contest. When a Will is contested and Objections to probate are filed, there can be many months…