New York Probate Lawyer Blog
As I have repeated many times in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog, a critical determination at death is whether a person had a Last Will and Testament or died intestate. If a Last Will is located, then a decedent’s estate is the subject for the probate process. This means that the Will is filed in the appropriate New York Surrogate’s Court along with a Petition requesting that the Will be admitted to probate and that the Court issue Letters Testamentary to the Petitioner. There may be some minor variations, but this is the general procedure.
In the event there is no Will, a proceeding for Letters of Administration must be initiated. The persons who inherit an intestate estate and who are entitled to be appointed as Administrators are determined strictly in accordance with the New York intestacy laws.
When a Will is filed for probate, one of the initial inquiries is whether the document was executed in accordance with the statutory requirements. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published many articles concerning probate and Surrogate’s Court proceedings. In this regard Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act section 3-2.1 entitled “Execution and attestation of wills; formal requirements” provides the basic requirements for the validity of a Will. For example, a Will needs to be in writing and have two attesting witnesses. The person creating the Will, the testator, must sign the document at the end of the paper. In the event that a Will is not created in strict conformity with the estate law, then a Court can invalidate it and a decedent’s estate is then generally subject to the intestacy laws.
Interestingly, New York has recently passed legislation which allows the creation and use of digital Wills. The new statute has a number of strict requirements including that the digital Will be filed with Court within 30 days of execution.
When a Will is improperly executed or otherwise does not comply with statutory or procedural requirements, then estate litigation is typically required. A Will Contest and Objections to a Will may include allegations that a Will is not validly executed, or that a decedent was unduly influenced or that a decedent lacked testamentary capacity.
A recent case which occurred in Vancouver, Canada offers a prime example of issues faced when a Will’s validity is in doubt. In this case, reported by Matthew Claxton at mapleridgenews.com on April 7, 2026 entitled “Charities spar in court over estate of late Langley woman”, a British Columbia Court was faced with drafts of Wills which were in written physical form and also a digital version. These drafts were discovered following the decedent’s death. Apparently, pursuant to the local law, an unofficial Will may be found legal in the event a decedent’s wishes are clearly demonstrated. A major problem in this case was that the digital and written Wills left assets to different charities. Since the written Will appeared to have been the last document created, it was determined that the charities named in this document would receive most of the estate. The decedent’s family did not challenge the Wills.
As can be seen, creating and probating a Will and settling an estate can be complex. The assistance of an experienced estate lawyer can be essential. I have been representing clients in trusts and estate and guardianship cases for more than 40 years. Do you have a question regarding an estate or guardianship. Call me now for a free confidential review. 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 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.