Estate Planning Attorneys in New York are familiar with the creation of Last Wills and Trusts in which primary and alternate Executors and Trustees are named. One of the main advantages to creating a Will or Trust is that the creator can select the persons he wants to act as…
New York Probate Lawyer Blog
A New York Court May Amend Or Reform A Will Or Trust If Appropriate Circumstances Exist
New York Estate Planning requires that the creator of a Will or Trust clearly set forth his intentions. It is very important that a Last Will or a Trust clearly state the manner in which a person wants his assets to be distributed. Serious problems arise when a Trust or…
New York Fiduciaries Are Required to Recover all Estate Assets
Estate Lawyers in New York are familiar with the various statutes that provide executors and administrators with powers to administer an estate. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Section 11-1.1 entitled “Fiduciaries’ powers”, sets forth many of the matters that a fiduciary can engage in to facilitate estate settlement. For…
New York Spouses Can Lose Their Inheritance Rights Due to Abandonment
The settlement of a New York estate requires the identification of the decedent’s distributees (i.e, next of kin). In both probate proceedings and intestate administration proceedings the Court filings require that the names and addresses of all distributees be provided. This mandate allows the Court to identify all persons who…
New York Estate Settlement May Require The Examination of a Safe Deposit Box
The administration of a New York Estate involves many different tasks. The main function of an estate fiduciary such as an executor or administrator is to collect the decedent’s assets and to pay or satisfy various debts and administration expenses. There may be many complicated steps that need to be…
New York Kinship Determinations Require A Due Diligent Search
Surrogate’s Court cases such as probate proceedings and intestate administration proceedings have many different requirements. However, one common necessity in all these matters is that the Court must be provided with complete information regarding a decedent’s next of kin (“distributees”). Full details regarding family members is necessary so that all…
A New York Will Should Contain Unambiguous Provisions for the Payment of Bequests
Planning an Estate includes the preparation of a number of different documents. These can include a Last Will, Living Will and Health Care Proxy, Power of Attorney and Living Trust. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed the importance of estate planning in many articles. A very important aspect…
New York Guardianship Cases Require That Interested Parties Be Involved in the Proceedings
The statutes concerning the appointment of a New York Guardian for a person who is incapacitated are located in Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law (MHL). There have been many articles posted concerning the law of guardianship in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog. A Guardianship case is commenced…
The Appointment of a New York Administrator is Based Upon Statutory Priority
When a person dies without a Last Will he is said to have died intestate. The handling of an intestate estate falls under the heading of an administration proceeding as opposed to a probate proceeding when a person dies and leaves a Last Will. The fiduciary of an intestate estate…
A New York Fiduciary Can Have a Deed to Estate Property Cancelled
The Estate Administration process involves many different issues. A New York Estate Lawyer typically represents a fiduciary, such as an Executor or Administrator, who is responsible for handling these matters. The collection of the decedent’s assets is always a primary function to be carried out. Some assets are easy to…