Probate Process in New York

A Probate New York Lawyer helps in the process of winding up your affairs, evaluating and distributing the assets of your estate according to the dictates of a will, through a process called Probate. Whoever is so named as the executor of a will, will be the person to initiate the probate process. Probating a will is done in a Surrogate’s court such as the Kings Surrogate’s court in New York, and the proceedings are as stated in the Probate Law of the state. All this is done in the same territory or county where the deceased lived and where the estate(s) is located.

When you pass away, your family is faced with the challenge of managing and sharing your assets among themselves. This is a delicate, emotional and trying time, when they will be faced with a lot of decisions to make. Leaving them without a Will–a valid one–will make things even more difficult for them.

You’d wonder why I used the word valid. Probate in itself is the legal process of determining the validity of a will before its contents are carried out. Not all Wills are valid. For instance, a Will valid in one state may be invalid in another state, and this is one cogent reason why you need a Probate New York Lawyer.

The Probate New York Lawyer is an expert in estate laws as well as laws binding the writing of wills. He will give you legal assistance in writing your will to prevent erroneous acts that’ll render your will invalid. For instance, New York Law states that you must sign the will at the end, or have someone else sign it if you’re incapacitated. Also, there must be at least two witness at the time of signing the will. If during probate these requirements are found by the court to have been ignored, the will be rendered void, and your wishes written in the will no longer hold water. To avoid issues like this, why not contact a Probate New York Lawyer today to educate you and help design a will and estate plan that would benefit the loved ones you’ll leave behind?

When you finally pass away, your estate has to be dispersed in a certain way. All your assets must be accounted for and evaluated before dispersing among your beneficiaries. This probating process can become a very lengthy and complicated process. The executor of your Will have to hire a Probate New York Lawyer to guide him on what to do in handling the affairs of your estate, and distributing the assets. Debts and taxes will be paid as well as expenses and bills, and this will be from the estate account. To avoid having issues with your creditors and beneficiaries, the executor and beneficiaries are advised to hire for themselves Probate Lawyers.

In a case where you pass away without a written will, the Surrogate’s court will pass a judgment of estate administration. Estate administration which is backed by laws of intestacy, is done in a case where there is no valid Last Will of the deceased. The estate will then be distributed among the family and relatives according to these intestate laws, and this will see the estate being distributed against the wishes of the beneficiaries. Intestate Laws vary across different states. Therefore there is need for you to contact the Probate New York Lawyer who is well learned in this area, in order to avoid conflicts that may arise.

A will may be contested. When one or more parties feel that the deceased was forced into signing the will, or that they are being cheated out of their inheritance, such party may issue out a petition of contest of will. The Lawyer is again involved in applying legal procedure in determining whether or not the contest may stand.

The helps in several issues related to estate and wills. With empathy, he/she protects the interest of the mourning family all through that trying time and ensure they get what is due to them. He/she helps in settling the creditors of the deceased, evaluating the assets of the estate and distributing it among the family members.

Are you an elderly thinking about what would happen to your estate when you’re gone? Or an executor or beneficiary? Hurry and contact a Probate New York Lawyer.