People use the “cousin” terms loosely, as if always means the same thing. For family social purposes it doesn’t really matter, but legally and for inheritance questions, it surely DOES matter. These details arise in two particular situations:
When I am about to represent someone who is about to become a Fiduciary (Executor or Administrator) of an Estate, I find it helpful talk about “how an Estate finishes”. Like many things in life, if you know where you
When I refer to a “probate case”, I am talking about any situation where someone has died and somebody is talking to me about it.
There are 3 main areas I ask questions about. Asking these questions helps me figure
When people refer to “cousins”, in a way that covers a variety of relationships. For family and social purposes there isn’t much difference between first cousins, second cousins and “cousins once removed. But for legal purposes when inheritances are involved,
As noted in previous posts, aunts/uncles/cousins CAN inherit, if they can disprove the prior inheritance classes (spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings/nieces/nephews) and prove their own relationship and identify and account for everyone at their inheritance level. This generally arises when
When I refer to a “probate case”, I’m talking about any situation where someone has died and now someone else has contacted me as a lawyer.
In these situations there are 3 main areas I ask questions about. I can’t
If a person dies without a Will, and the closest relatives are aunts, uncles and first cousins, do they inherit in New York?
The answer is YES, but there are some special rules. Aunts, uncles and cousins can inherit if
When I represent someone who is about to become a Fiduciary (Executor or Administrator) of an Estate, I always talk about “how an Estate finishes”. Like many things in life, if you know where you are trying to go it
Many lawyers deal with Surrogate’s Court only peripherally. Considering that questions about Estates and Surrogate’s Court arise so often, it is worth knowing the basics. Here are the top 10 things worth knowing about Surrogate’s Court….
1. The Surrogate Court
The word “probate” is often tossed around as something to be avoided. As if the failure to avoid it were a mark of stupidity, or symbolized a lack of care or planning.
On some level if a person does extensive
