New York Probate Lawyer Blog
The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published dozens of articles relating to many different topics such as estate planning, probating a Last Will and Testament, Will contests; objecting to a Last Will; intestate estate administration; kinship proceedings; estate accounting proceedings; proceedings by an executor or administrator to recover estate property from a third-party; selling estate real estate. This list barely scratches the surface.
One of the primary functions in planning an estate is to avoid issues which may arise and be difficult to solve once a person is deceased. An estate plan can include documents such as a Last Will, Living Will, Living Trust, Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy. Creating these papers may forestall post-death problems. For example, here are a few areas of concern:
Kinship– After a person dies either a Last Will needs to be probated or an intestate administration proceeding commenced. In both instances it is absolutely necessary to know the identity and whereabouts of a decedent’s next of kin. This information is essential for all probate and intestate petitions. A person’s next of kin is not always easy to determine. In many cases there are close relatives such as a spouse, children, parents or brothers and sisters. However, over the more than 40 years of practicing in the trusts and estates areas I have encountered many estates where a decedent’s heirs (called “distributees”) are either not known or only partially known. For example, a person may prepare a Last Will and leave their estate to a friend or a charity. As it turns out, the decedent’s next of kin are unknown to his associates or executor or are distant relatives who live in various countries or states and who have had no contact with the decedent for decades. The need to perform a kinship search or engage in a kinship hearing can be costly and delay the settlement of an estate for many years. The bottom line is for a person to provide complete kinship information at the time the estate plan is created so that this
Assets – The transfer of assets through an estate plan is an essential function. For a plan to be effective, full information regarding an individuals assets must be provided. This Blog has discussed the situation where title to assets will determine how they are disposed of. Jointly held assets or assets which have named beneficiaries are going to be transferred to the named owner or beneficiary automatically upon death. A Last Will is not going to control the disposition of these items. A Will only controls assets held solely in a decedent’s name. Therefore, any estate planning document must be created knowing which assets it is to dispose of. There is no sense leaving an estate to one person in a Will when all assets pass directly to a different person. Not only does imperfect asset allocation impede the intended affect of a plan, it creates difficulty after a person dies with the Surrogate’s Court proceedings since the asset ownership information may not be readily available. The Surrogate’s Court probate and intestate petitions require a statement as to estimated estate assets. This may also affect the amount of a fiduciary bond the Court requires a fiduciary to file prior to appointment.
I have represented clients in estate and Surrogate’s Court matters for over 40 years. Do you have an estate question. 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 Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Nassau and Suffolk County (212) 355-2575 for initial free consultation.