Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) contains the provisions regarding the appointment of a Guardian for property management and personal needs for a person who is found to be incapacitated. The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has discussed in earlier posts the procedure to obtain the appointment of…
Executors and Administrators appointed by the Surrogate’s Court have many duties and responsibilities. New York Estate Lawyers who represent fiduciaries typically assist their clients in connection with determining and paying estate liabilities. These liabilities can be in the form of debts and claims owed by the decedent such as unpaid…
Estate attorneys in New York are familiar with statutes that provide for the distribution of estate assets to a person’s next of kin. These persons are known as distributees. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 4-1.1 entitled “Descent and distribution of a decedent’s estate” provides the order of priority to…
Estate Attorneys in New York are familiar with the use of a Durable Power of Attorney to assist with various activities. Sometimes a power is signed by a principal to assist with a specific transaction such as the sale or purchase of real estate. The power may be needed because…
The rights of a surviving spouse to inherit from a decedent have been referred to in numerous articles in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog. When a person dies without a Last Will, a surviving spouse is provided by Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) Section 4-1.1 with at least…
One of the first and sometimes most difficult tasks faced by an Executor or Administrator of an estate is to identify, protect and collect the assets of a decedent’s estate. There is a fiduciary obligation to perform these activities so that the estate beneficiaries’ interests are safeguarded. The fiduciary has…
A very common complaint that New York Estate Lawyers hear is that an estate beneficiary has not received his share of a decedent’s estate. Typically, the beneficiary, who may be a legatee under a Last Will or a distributee in an intestate administration, has been waiting for years to receive…
When a person dies intestate (without a Last Will), his estate is distributed according to the laws of intestacy. New York estate lawyers know that Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 4-1.1 provides the list of relatives who have priority to receive a share of the decedent’s estate. Many articles…
The probate process in New York can be very complex. When a person dies and leaves a Last Will and Testament it is necessary to probate the decedent’s Will to have an Executor appointed to administer the estate. There have been many articles published in the New York Probate Lawyer…
The Surrogate’s Courts in New York are familiar to most persons as the Court where Wills can be probated and Executors and Administrators appointed to handle estate affairs. While it is accurate that the primary issues presented to the Court are the appointment of estate fiduciaries, there are a plethora…