New York Probate Lawyer Blog
The assets which may be owned by a Decedent can take many forms. There may be financial items such as bank accounts or brokerage accounts. These can be pure savings held in a Decedent’s name or retirement savings in the form of Individual Retirement Accounts, a 401K or other pension type plan. Sometimes there is life insurance. However, it must be remembered that only assets held in a Decedent’s name alone will be in an estate. If there are named beneficiaries or joint survivorship owners, such assets will be paid directly to the beneficiary or survivor without passing through an estate. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published many articles discussing estate settlement.
Estate assets will come under the control of either an Administrator or Executor depending upon whether or not a Decedent died leaving a Last Will and Testament. In either case, one of the most valuable assets owned by a Decedent is real estate. Real property can be in the form of a personal residence or commercial property. A condominium unit is real property. A cooperative apartment is not real property since the ownership is the shares of stock in the cooperative corporation. However, in many ways co-ops appear to be real estate.
It is not uncommon for a real estate asset to be encumbered by a mortgage. Mortgages can take many forms. There can be the typical home loan. Also, there may be a Reverse Mortgage or a Home Equity Line of Credit. In all these situations an Executor or Administrator is faced with the task of paying or satisfying these loans during the course of estate administration. Payment of ongoing or monthly charges may be difficult or impossible if an estate does not have any liquid funds. If the property is difficult to sell or if other circumstances interfere with its sale, a lender may seek to foreclosure. Circumstances such as tenants or occupants refusing to give up possession or a delay in obtaining Court authorization for a fiduciary to act may cause complications. Dealing with a foreclosure where a lender is seeking to obtain a judgment and sale can result in a lot of stress on a fiduciary who wants to protect a valuable asset.
Additionally, real property may be subject to other liens. There may be liens for unpaid taxes or monetary judgments from past litigation in which the Decedent was involved. A fiduciary may be surprised by the existence or amount of these monetary obligations which were not known until there was a full title search.
Other issues which may exist concern title to a property itself. The past deeds that were filed may not show a clear chain of title. Also, individuals who were on prior deeds may still have claims to the property. Needless to say, there is a vast amount of issues which may arise regarding estate settlement of real estate.
I have represented Administrators and Executors for over 40 years dealing with estates and real estate. Do you have a question regarding an estate or even a Guardianship case? Call me now for a free confidential review of your issue. We provide reasonable and flexible fee arrangements and personal representation.
New York Trusts and Estate Attorney Jules Martin Haas has helped many clients over the past 40 years resolve issues relating to guardianship and probate and estate settlement throughout New York City including the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Nassau and Suffolk County. If you or someone you know has questions regarding these matters, please contact me at (212) 355-2575 for initial free consultation.