Article 81 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) provides the substantive and procedural statutes regarding New York Guardianships. As previously talked about in many past posts in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog, a Guardian can be appointed to handle a person’s property management and personal needs when…
How planning for one differs from planning for a couple In some ways, estate planning for a single person can be more challenging for an estate planner than planning for a couple. When a couple formulates an estate plan, the easiest and most natural thing to do is to entrust…
The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed many issues that arise in connection with intestacy. When a person is said to have died intestate it means that his or her estate is to be distributed without the benefit of a Last Will. The relevant local laws of intestacy determine…
Those seeking to set up a trust in New York have many more options than their nationwide peers when it comes to choosing a trustee. New York offers a unique and varied concentration of financial service institutions that is unlike anywhere else in the world. However, your trustee need not…
A New York Guardianship Lawyer can advise a client with regard to the Guardian’s duties to protect the assets of the incapacitated person. Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) Section 81.21 is entitled “Powers of guardian; property management” and provides the various property management powers that are given to the Guardian. These…
As a way for an individual to avoid burdening his or her surviving family members with the task of probating a Will and probate fees after death, New York law allows the creation of the inter vivos trust, also called the living trust. A living trust is an arrangement under…
A New York Estate Planning Attorney can advise a client regarding the preparation of documents such as a Last Will, Living Will, Health Care Proxy, Power of Attorney and Living Trust. By preparing these documents an individual can provide protection to him or herself and their family during life and…
Estate Administration in New York involves the determination of the persons who are the estate beneficiaries. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed in many posts that when a person dies without a Last Will his or her distributees inherit the estate. Where a Last Will has been prepared,…
New York Estate Litigation can involve many aspects of Estate Settlement. Surrogate’s Court proceedings often concern issues such as the validity of a Last Will in a Will Contest. The identity of Estate Distributees may require a kinship hearing. Controversies regarding the ownership of estate assets also presents many opportunities…
Estate litigation in New York can involve a countless number of issues. The situation that is most commonly recognized is the Contested Will or Will Contest. This type of trust and estate litigation usually gets newspaper headlines such as in the recent case of the Estate of Brooke Astor. The…