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…
The New York Probate process has many different aspects and requirements. The probate of a Last Will begins with the preparation of a Probate Petition which is to be filed with the Surrogate’s Court. Many of the basic Surrogate’s Court forms can be found online at www.nyccourts.gov/forms/surrogates. The petition is…
The estate settlement process in New York involves a number of stages. The first stage is typically the appointment of the fiduciary. Where the decedent has left a Last Will, the Will must be probated. Throughout New York such as in Westchester or the Bronx, probate in the Surrogate’s Court…
New York Estates and Trusts Law Firms deal with issues regarding real estate all the time. The ownership of real estate can take many forms. Queens County estates and Brooklyn estates are likely to have interests in single family houses. Manhattan estates commonly contain condominiums and cooperative apartments. Regardless of…
The preparation of a New York Last Will is an important part of a person’s overall financial plan. The initial step that should be taken is to fully assess and understand the goals that the person making the Will wants to achieve. This process can be summarized as formulating and…
The administration of a New York estate requires that estate fiduciaries, such as Executors and Administrators, determine and resolve debts that are left by a decedent. Debts and liabilities can take many forms. A decedent may have owned a home or other real estate. Such assets can have mortgage debts…