The settlement of an estate in New York can be divided into three main categories. The first category or phase is the appointment of the fiduciary. When a decedent has a Last Will, then the Will needs to be filed with the Court and admitted to probate. Probate proceedings in…
Last Will and Testament is an important part of a person’s estate plan. There are a number of papers that a person should consider when starting to prepare a plan. In addition to a Will, these papers can include a Living Will, a Health Care Proxy, a Living Trust and…
Guardianship cases in New York are controlled by Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law (MHL). These proceedings concern the appointment of Guardians for personal needs and for property management. The Court proceedings in Article 81 cases involve the filing of a petition with the Court and a hearing. The…
The probate process in New York City can be very complex . There are numerous statutes in the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) and the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA), as well as Court rules, that deal with the probate of a Last Will. Many cases in the Surrogate’s…
A recent column by Cindy Adams in New York Post on October 16, 2017 discusses the death of entertainer, Jerry Lewis and a person named Suzan who claims to be his illegitimate child. According to the article, Lewis never acknowledged Suzan as his child. Lewis also made no provision for…
A decedent’s estate in New York is comprised of different assets. In many estates the most valuable asset is real estate. The real estate assets can be in the nature of the decedent’s residential property or commercial or business property. It is also common for someone to have owned a…
Contesting a Will in New York involves many different issues. The validity of a Will must be challenged on various specific grounds. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed these grounds in many prior articles. One of the basic allegations in a Will dispute is that the document was…
Wills in New York are required to be executed in accordance with the statutory guidelines. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Section 3-2.1 entitled “Execution and attestation of wills; formal requirements”, sets forth very definite rules for Will authenticity. For example, a Will generally needs to be in writing and…
The appointment of a Guardian in New York is provided for in Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law (MHL). There are two areas in which a Guardian can be needed. A person who is found to be incapacitated may need a Guardian for personal needs. A personal needs Guardian…
When a Last Will is offered for probate, the Court needs to be provided with an array of additional information. One of the most important areas that the Court needs to know about is the identity of the decedent’s next of kin. These individuals are known as distributees. The Surrogate’s…