As a Trusts and Estates lawyer in New York, I receive many inquiries from individuals who are concerned about recovering and protecting their estate inheritances. The administration aspect of an estate generally can be in one of two forms. There is a probate estate where a decedent dies leaving a…
All of a sudden you are asked to be the Executor or Administrator of an estate. Most people have never acted in such a capacity and do not have any experience as to the responsibilities and tasks that lie ahead. They may be reluctant or even afraid to accept the…
The probate process in New York requires that statutory and procedural guidelines be complied with. The statutory framework is contained in the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act and the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law. Admitting a Will to probate is, in effect, obtaining Court approval that the document is valid and…
When an Executor or Administrator is appointed by the Surrogate’s Court, the job of estate settlement begins. One of the first orders of business is identifying and collecting the assets of the estate. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed the issue of asset protection and collection on many…
One of the most important fiduciary duties of an Executor or Administrator is locating and recovering estate property. The assets of the decedent must be secured so that they can be distributed to estate beneficiaries. Assets are also needed to pay estate expenses such as deb Sometimes it is difficult…
When a person dies there is a lot of concern about the actions to be taken regarding the handling of the individual’s estate. While this article talks about 5 important steps or considerations in truth, depending upon the nature of the estate, there can be many more. To begin with,…
The settlement of a decedent’s estate involves numerous activities. When a person is appointed as the Administrator or Executor of an estate, one of the most important fiduciary duties is to locate and collect the assets that were owned by the decedent. In some estates this task can be uncomplicated. …
New York estate settlement involves many different types of rules and statutes. When a person dies the first question to be asked is whether the decedent had a Last Will and Testament or whether he died intestate. Once this fundamental issue is established either a probate petition or a petition…
After a person dies it is usually necessary to enter the decedent’s residence for various purposes. To begin with, it may be that the home needs to be searched to see if the person left a Last Will and Testament. Gaining access to the home may not be difficult if…
A decedent may leave many types of estate assets. Some of these items that are held in the decedent’s name alone will be payable to the executor or administrator as part of the administration estate. Other assets such as life insurance or pension proceeds may be payable to designated beneficiaries.…