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…
The New York probate process is designed so that an Executor can be appointed to handle estate affairs. Until an estate Executor is granted letters testamentary by the Surrogate’s Court, no one has the legal authority to act on behalf of the decedent’s estate. Sometimes, preliminary letters testamentary can be…
Estate planning in New York involves the preparation of a number of documents including a Last Will and Testament. It is not unusual that during the course of a lifetime a person prepares and executes a series of Wills. It is a common practice that a Will should be updated…
The gross estate of a decedent includes many different types of assets. There are assets such as bank accounts and real estate that were owned by the decedent in his name alone at the time of death. These assets would be subject to the control of an estate executor or…
Last Wills are part of estate planning. The contents of the Will contains numerous provisions dealing with the distribution of estate assets. There can be pecuniary bequests which provide for a definite amount of money to be given to a beneficiary. There can also exist residuary provisions that direct the…
There are a number of different types of papers and considerations that are involved in estate planning. It is important that the documents appear clearly and express a person’s directions and intentions. An estate plan can include a Last Will and a Living Trust. Also, advance directives such as a…
One of the most important aspects when administering an estate is establishing the identity of a decedent’s next of kin. The persons comprising next of kin or heirs are commonly referred to in New York as “distributees”. Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) Section 103(14) defines a distributee as a person…
When a person prepares an Estate Plan and a Last Will and Testament one of the important decisions to be made concerns the selection of an Executor. A Last Will contains a provision in which the testator nominates an Executor. It is also important to nominate a successor or alternate…