One of the fundamental aspects of estate planning and settling an estate is determining the nature of a person’s assets. When planning an estate a New York City Estate Attorney typically examines the ownership of various types of assets. For example, a bank account may be owned in a variety…
Executors and Administrators in New York have many fiduciary duties with respect to settling an estate. Most estate fiduciaries are close family members or friends of a decedent. Typically, a person will nominate a person that they know and trust to be the Executor of their estate. Since the estate…
The probate of Wills in New York can be very complicated. The Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (“EPTL”) Section 3-2.1 entitled “Execution and attestation of Wills; formal requirements” provides the basic requirements for the proper execution of a Will. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog contains many articles discussing the…
When a person dies, one of the first tasks that a family and fiduciary face is to take control over the decedent’s residence. New York estate lawyers are aware that accessing and securing a decedent’s home can often be difficult and complicated. To begin with, when a decedent lived alone…
Estate planning is an essential part of making certain that a person’s assets are managed and distributed in accordance with one’s intentions. New York Estate Lawyers counsel clients with regard to the preparation and execution of planning documents such as Last Wills, Living Wills, Health Care Proxies, Powers of Attorney…
Estate proceedings in New York typically involve the collection of assets that were owned by the decedent. In most cases the assets are easily identified and collected such as bank accounts or securities accounts. As discussed in earlier posts in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog, there are occasions when…
The estate of a New York decedent contains many different types of assets. One of the most important items of ownership in an estate is real estate. These interests commonly constitute one of the estate’s most valuable assets. Since real estate holdings are so valuable and because the laws concerning…
When a person dies and leaves a Last Will and Testament, the typical course to follow is to probate the Will. This Blog has published many posts concerning the probate process. The Will is filed with the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent had his primary home. A…
New York Estate Lawyers frequently refer to Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Section 3-2.1 regarding the formalities required with regard to execution and witnessing of a Last Will. When a petition is filed with the Surrogate’s Court to have a Will admitted to probate, the statutes require that notice…
A very common issue that arises during the course of estate administration concerns assets that a decedent transfers close to the time of death. These transfers can be in the form of outright gifts or the creation of ownership rights such as a joint tenancy or through a beneficiary designation.…