A person becomes the administrator of an estate in one of two ways. The deceased individual may have named them as their executor long ago when they drafted their estate plan. If they did not, then the probate courts may appoint someone to serve as the representative...
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Estate Administration & Probate
Does a New York estate with a house have to go through probate?
Someone's home might represent years of investment. Many people pay as much as a third of their income for their mortgage every month, making their home their biggest overall asset. Many people in New York want to pass their home or other real estate holdings on to...
Why do I need a power of attorney?
What does the future hold? No one can say with any certainty. We can hope for the best and plan for the worst, as they say, but we never really know what will happen. This is why you may want to add a power of attorney to your estate plan. The rest of your plan is...
When will you need to pay estate taxes in New York?
Probate administration is a heavy burden to bear. At the same time that you are grieving the loss of a loved one, you simultaneously have to handle legal and financial matters for them. Locating and distributing their property, as well as handling their business and...
What’s your biggest liability as an estate’s executor?
Estate administration can take months or even more than a year. The more property and debts someone had and the more complicated their financial circumstances were, the longer it can take to settle everything after they die. Spending a lot of your time and mental...
What if there aren’t enough assets in an estate to pay off debts?
As an executor, your primary obligation is to resolve all of the outstanding obligations of someone who has recently died. You may need to probate their property, have utility accounts moved into the estate's name and pay taxes on behalf of the deceased. If they have...
How to sell real estate as the executor of a New York estate
Real estate holdings can be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, but they can also cause a lot of complications during estate administration. Siblings might fight over who gets to stay in the house or might suddenly realize that they can't qualify...
Supporting your favorite charity in your estate plan
Besides taking care of your family's financial security and keeping control over your future medical care, your estate plan can also help you support causes you believe in as part of your legacy. In New York, charitable planning tools, including a charitable trust,...
Why do I need a power of attorney for finances?
When you’re alert, healthy and able to make your own decisions, you won’t have many concerns about your ability to manage your own finances. Conversely, if you’re incapacitated for any reason, such as an injury or illness, you won’t be able to do this. And that’s why...
These estate planning mistakes could sneak up on you
When it comes to estate planning, there’s no questioning the fact that you want to make accurate and sound decisions that will benefit you and your family in the future. The problem with this is that there is nothing easy about the estate planning process. Here are...