Probate Lawyer and Estate Administration
When a family has suffered the loss of a loved one, they are faced with difficult decisions during a time of mourning. Hiring an experienced New York Probate Attorney is very important step to get the help you need. Choosing Boyer Law Firm to assist you in settling the estate’s affairs should add clarity, efficiency, and peace of mind to your loved one’s estate settlement and probate proceedings. Boyer Law Firm works with the family to demystify New York’s sometimes difficult probate procedures, laws and rules. Only through aggressive representation and compassionate care will your family ease the tension in this difficult situation.
Why Hire a Probate Lawyer in New York?
Tackling the administration of the Estate should not be painful or overly burdensome if you hire an ethical attorney interested in a fair settlement of the affairs. The adverse consequences financially, legally, and emotionally are too high.
The New York Probate Process
The responsibility of who will administer the estate is usually set forth in the Last Will and Testament, and is called the executor. If you are appointed as the fiduciary (Executor/ix or Administrator) of an estate, you are under a legal obligation to settle the decedent’s estate in a timely manner, and for the benefit of those taking under the will.
A fiduciary is someone who is legally responsibility (liable) for taking care of the property of another person for the benefit of that person. Society, the courts, and your family must trust that person to be accountable and manage the affairs in an ethical, legal and moral way. If the fiduciary fails, litigation normally results. The repercussions of mishandling the affairs or breaching that loyalty to the estate can be especially severe, and result in personal liability. Familiarizing yourself with your fiduciary obligations is vital. An experienced attorney will advise and protect the executor from legal and financial liability.
When a person dies without a will, courts refer to that as dying “intestate.” When this happens, a fiduciary is needed to wind up the estate in accordance with the local law or statute, and is called an “administration.” During the administration, the fiduciary will allocate the property (both real and personal) following the statutory breakdowns for parents, children, uncles, and even grandparents of the decedent.
When money and death are involved, the fiduciary needs to hire competent attorneys to advise them on how to allocate the assets of the estate, pay the estates bills and wind up the affairs of the person’s life.
Property and assets titled jointly with others, or in the name of a trust often do not pass “through the estate” and are not probated, typically resulting in greater privacy and lower administrative costs. Hiring an attorney to understand the complex life of the decedent will often speed the distribution of those assets that do pass through the estate to the beneficiary.