Estate planning in New York is important since it provides a procedure for a person to document the manner in which assets are to be disposed of at death. There are many different aspects to planning an estate, which also may include lifetime directives in the form of advance directives. …
It is quite common that when a Last Will and Testament is filed with the Surrogate’s Court for probate, various members of a decedent’s family view the Will provisions to be objectionable. This feeling of rejection may be based upon a perception that a decedent was somehow coerced into signing…
It is not uncommon that a person who dies was the subject of an Article 81 Guardianship proceeding prior to death. The Guardianship statutes are contained in Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law. A Guardian for personal needs and property management will be appointed where a person is determined…
The probate process in New York can appear daunting to persons unfamiliar with the statutes and procedures relating to such matters. In cases where a person dies and leaves a Last Will and Testament, the Will must be filed with the Surrogate’s Court in order to obtain the Court’s approval…
Contesting a Will in New York involves many different rules of law and procedures. The Estates Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) and the Surrogates Court Procedure Act (SCPA) provide various guides. At its essence, the validity of a decedent’s Will must comply with EPTL Section 3-2.1 entitled “Execution and attestation…
Contesting a Last Will in New York is a complex and difficult endeavor. The problem initially encountered, of course, is that the decedent is not available to explain exactly what occurred in connection with the preparation and execution of a Will. As a result, the facts and evidence need to…
After the death of a decedent, a proceeding may be commenced to probate a Last Will and Testament. Probate proceedings are filed in Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent resided. Various individuals may want to contest the Will. Most commonly, objectants are the decedent’s distributees or next of…
In order for a Last Will and Testament to be valid, it must be admitted to probate. Probating a Will in New York requires following all the procedures in the Surrogate’s Court. Many times a person who is disinherited or does not receive what he expects in the Will provisions…
A person may prepare and execute a number of Last Wills during the course of a lifetime. It is not unusual to find that a testator signed a new Will only a few years after having created the earlier document. In these situations, the provisions in the Wills may be…
The Probate Process in New York involves various statutes and Court rules. A Last Will and Testament is not valid until it is admitted to probate by the Surrogate’s Court. When a petition is filed with the Court for probate, the document contains the names of the decedent’s distributees (next…