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 Clerk’s offices are broken down into departments: – Probate (Appointment of a fiduciary when there is a Will) – Administration (Appointment of fiduciary when there is no Will) – Accounting (Issues concerning distribution of the…

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 planning, and has ALL their assets with named beneficiaries, or if a person creates a trust (AND takes the additional step of transferring ALL their assets to the trust), probate can be avoided. But what…

What happens when a person dies without a Will?   Contrary to popular misconception, their assets do NOT “go to the State.” When there is no will, and a person dies, the laws of intestacy apply.  All States have such laws, essentially a logical order with the closest relatives inheriting.  In New York it goes like this:   – if a spouse and no children, all to the spouse – if children and no spouse, all…

In this article we will review the inheritance rights of first cousins, first cousins once removed, and second cousins under New York law. People often use the “cousin” terms loosely, as if they were interchangeable.  For family and social purposes they are interchangeable, but legally they are decidedly NOT.  This distinction arises in two particular situations: When a person dies without a Will (which is called “intestate”) and the closest relatives are cousins. When a…

At some point everyone “thinks about making a Will”.  Some turn the thought into action and do it.  Some don’t. As a lawyer I say everyone should act on this thought, but in reality the consequences of not acting may not be SO bad, IF the results would be relatively the same with or without a Will.  When a person has a spouse and some grown children, and everyone is friendly, things will probably work…

Under New York law, when a person dies without a Will, sometimes  first cousins CAN inherit, subject to certain special rules. The most significant rule is that while first cousins can inherit, generally they cannot serve as fiduciary.  This job goes to the Public Administrator if the County has one (5 boros, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties do). After the Public Administrator is appointed, they do what a fiduciary is supposed to….marshal the assets, pay…

When I refer to a “probate case”, I am talking about any situation where someone has died and now someone else is in my office. In these situations there are 3 main areas I ask questions about.  I can’t think of a situation where these questions would not be asked.  Asking these questions helps me figure out what may need to be done, helps me analyze possible scenarios, and helps me decide whether (and on…