Major issues that often arise in connection with estate settlement concern the identity and value of a decedent’s property. In many estates, a decedent engages in estate planning and asset transfers during the months or even days before death. Estate planning and/or transfers may occur for very legitimate reasons. Concerns…
The settlement of a New York estate may involve many different proceedings and issues. Initially, a proceeding needs to be commenced in the Surrogate’s Court to have an executor or administrator appointed to handle estate affairs. This includes the identification and collection of assets and the payment of claims and…
The appointment of a Guardian for personal needs or property management is provided for by Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law. This statute contains the numerous provisions regarding the procedure and substantive law for a New York Guardianship. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published many articles regarding…
There are a number of aspects to the settlement of an estate. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has examined these matters in detail in many earlier posts. The first stage of an estate is to obtain the appointment of a fiduciary. This involves a petition to appoint an executor…
An executor or administrator is responsible to complete estate settlement. There are many aspects to settling an estate. The fiduciary must identify estate assets and actively seek to collect the assets. Additionally, an estate representative must ascertain the various debts and claims which may be outstanding. Also, expenses of administering…
One of the most valuable assets in an estate is typically real estate. This asset is usually the decedent’s residence. Since real estate predominates as an estate asset, many aspects of real estate law can be involved in estate settlement. Also, estate litigation in the Surrogate’s Court often concerns this…
A decedent’s estate may consist of many types of assets. These may include bank and other types of financial accounts, retirement funds and real estate. Another very common asset owned by decedents is an interest in a cooperative apartment. A cooperative apartment, or co-op, is not real estate. In fact,…
After the death of an individual, a process of ascertaining and collecting assets needs to commence. Of course, the appointment of an estate fiduciary, whether executor or administrator, is essential to the asset collection process. In the event a delay is expected with regard to probating a Last Will or…
The New York Surrogate’s Courts are presented with many different types of proceedings. Those proceedings include probate cases, intestate administration matters and accounting proceedings, just to name a few. There is a separate Surrogate’s Court located in various counties throughout the state. For example, there is the Queens County Surrogate’s…
New York estate litigation encompasses many different aspects of trust and estate law. Controversies may arise in many types of proceedings. In the case of a probate proceeding, the most obvious area of dispute concerns the validity of a Last Will and Testament. This type of controversy is known as…