One type of asset that is commonly owned by a New York decedent, especially in New York City, is a cooperative apartment. Ownership of a coop apartment is reflected in the registered name that appears on the stock certificate and also on the proprietary lease. Therefore, the first consideration in these cases is to examine these documents to determine the nature of the decedent’s ownership. The stock certificate may be held in the decedent’s name alone or it might be owned along with another person as a joint owner or as a tenant in common. The nature of the ownership will direct the next steps to be taken. For example, if the stock is owned as a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship then the ownership of the entire coop will transfer to the survivor on death and no interest in the apartment will be subject to estate administration.
A second consideration concerns the appointment of an executor or an administrator if the coop ownership is part of the decedent’s estate to be administered. The cooperative management typically will not allow anyone access to or information about the apartment until they are authorized through a Court appointment. Often the management will not even accept payment of monthly maintenance charges if they are not being paid by an authorized party such as an estate fiduciary. As a result, it is important to try and obtain letters testamentary or letters of administration as soon as possible.
A third concern may be that the fiduciary that is appointed is granted letters from a Court outside of New York. If, for example, the decedent’s estate was probated in New Jersey, the cooperative corporation may require that an additional filing in New York called an ancillary proceeding be filed with the New York Surrogate’s Court for the appointment of a New York ancillary fiduciary. This is an important consideration since this second procedure may involve extra time and might delay a sale or transfer of the cooperative.
An additional aspect of administering a New York cooperative may be that there is a mortgage loan which needs to be paid. Again, the administrator or executor must be vigilant regarding such loan to prevent a foreclosure proceeding from occurring during the period of time before he or she is appointed by the Court.
I have represented many estates where one of the assets is a cooperative apartment. I have handled the closing of title for these properties as well as other issues concerning the cooperative management. Call Me Now to discuss your estate or cooperative apartment issue. We provide reasonable and flexible fee arrangements and personal representation.
New York Trusts and Estates Attorney Jules Martin Haas has helped many clients over the past 40 years resolve issues relating to guardianship and probate and estate settlement throughout New York City including the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Nassau and Suffolk County. If you or someone you know has any questions regarding these matters, please contact me at (212) 355-2575 for an initial free consultation.