New York Probate Legal Questions

Dead witnesses are no problem.  The statute deals with this.  There is a proceeding that your lawyer needs to bring.  You need to prove the death of the witnesses by having the death certificates.  The affidavit of their son is not sufficient.  There is only one way to deal with this under the statute.  If your lawyer does not know, get a new one.... Read More

Unless the fee was paid all of these years, the box would have been long opened and the contents sold for the fee.  However, if the box is still sealed, and you should check with the bank, there is a proceeding to bring in NY Surrogate's court to open a box.  A death certificate is not enough alone to open the box.  You need a court order.... Read More

What do you care what Suze Orman says?? This is a website where questions get answered by actual licensed lawyers who give legal advice. Not by some celebrity who gives financial advice.  If you want to avoid probate, you can put your assets into a trust. However, if a trust beneficiary decides to contest the distribution of the trust assets, settling the trust can be just as time consuming and expensive as submitting a will for probate. The only way to know what is an appropriate estate planning strategy for you is to sit down with a lawyer (not with Suze Orman) and discuss your full situation.  Sometimes trusts are the answer, and sometimes they are a waste of money. ... Read More

You can get a copy from the Surrogate's Court if there is a filed estate.  See if you can get the funeral home to give one.  Last option is you can open an estate by having vital records send a certificate to the Surrogate.  You are right.  You cannot order one directly.... Read More

As it is not your primary residence and you are the owner in full now (based on your post), you are going to have to pay.  You will not likely be able to do a modification of the loan, due to the estate being a borrower.  If there is equity, you may have to sell.  If there is not, while you could delay things and file for a modification, the chance of success is small.... Read More

Your question makes no sense, but there is an issue here.  A transfer by an executor never has compensation if property is devised in a will.  A transfer by someone who does not own property is irrelevant -- like me transferring the Brooklyn Bridge.  A transfer by an executor to someone not in the will is voidable, and the executor is liable.... Read More

I am so sorry for your loss. (You do seem to be handling it rather bravely, given that your mom died only a few days ago and you're already worrying about who gets her stuff.)  If your mother's roommate was the "benefactor" (I think you mean beneficiary) that means your mother had a will. Assuming it was properly executed, her estate goes to whomever she named in her will. Any life insurance policies go directly to the named beneficiaries, not to the heirs. The video means nothing. If there was no will, the life insurance policies still go to the named beneficiaries, but after an administrator of her estate is appointed, her estate gets divided in equal shares to her surviving children, if she had no spouse, and if there was a spouse, the spouse gets the first $50K of the estate plus one third and the children divide the remainder in equal shares.  ... Read More