New York Estate Planning, Probate, and Real Estate Lawyer

The executor’s (or administrator’s) primary duty is to liquidate the estate’s assets and distribute money to all beneficiaries named in the will or to distributees if there was no will. There are ways to legally compel an executor to act: After a reasonable time (6-9 months) you can demand that the executor provide an accounting…

An executor, appointed by the testator in his/her will has a fiduciary duty to the heirs of the estate. What can you do when the executor breaches his/her duty? What are the executor’s obligations? Filing a Probate Petition in Surrogate’s Court. Notifying all heirs and distributes of the filing. Locate all missing heirs if any.…

Whether a family member dies with or without a Last Will & Testament, all interested parties must be located and notified of the decedent’s passing.Interested parties consist of all the heirs named in the Will or all distributees of the Estate. A distributee is a family member of the deceased who would inherit if there…

Congress plan to make private student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy In 2015, 13 senators of the 144th Congress (2015-17) co-sponsored the “Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2015.”, which was the latest in a series of legislative attempts to get the Bill passed. Unfortunately, the Bill died in the previous Congress, which concluded on 3-January…

There are 3 basic options for estate planning. Two require the assistance of an attorney. One only requires a checkbook and a pen Prepare a Last Will and Testament and leave your property outright to your heirs in a will. Prepare an Irrevocable Trust: your funds go into the Trust and are distributed over time…

Neither physical injury, illness nor old age alone are considered by courts to be incompatible with testamentary capacity. The question in each case is the degree to which the decedent’s understanding and decision-making were affected, which must be determined on the facts of each case. “Advanced age is ordinarily accompanied by impairment of the physical…

Marilyn Monroe died 55 years ago, but even today, her estate millions per year through merchandising and similar post-mortem publicity initiatives made on her behalf. But the question is: who has the legal right to profit from all this merchandising revenue? The right of publicity has been described as the right of an individual, especially…

1. Family Matters Family disputes are a major cause for stress in people. The reason for that is because we have a very close and intimate relationship with our family members, and if there is issue within the family, it affects our health adversely and may lead to early mortality. So the best option is…

Everyone wants to lead a long and healthy life. But to have a wholesome life, you require a wholesome lifestyle. To pursue such longevity, there are a number of habits one can adopt and work on. Here are five such ways: 1) Follow the Greeks No amount of efforts for a long life will bear…

Under the New York Property Condition Disclosure Act (PCDA) (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 460-467), a seller of real property must disclose any hidden defects relating to that property to the buyer. Failure to inform the buyer about such latent material defects could result in unlimited post-closing liability upon the seller, even if the seller…