A Brooklyn probate lawyer helps executors and administrators close out and settle Brooklyn estates. Our office appears regularly in the Kings County Surrogate’s Court, and knowing how that court works is what lets an estate be closed without unneeded expense and delay. Here is what we do for a Brooklyn estate, whether you are the person seeking appointment, a beneficiary keeping an eye on the estate, or someone trying to keep the wrong person from being appointed.
What a Brooklyn probate lawyer does
In short, we have the court appoint you as the personal representative (executor or administrator), marshal the assets of the estate, pay the claims, resolve any disagreements, and distribute the assets to the right heirs in the right amounts. That work has the following parts.
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The petition for probate
The petition for probate is the primary document that commences the probate process. It contains all of the information about the person who died, about the person who would like to become the executor or administrator, about the people who benefit from the will, and about the closest living relatives of the person who died. The closest relatives are often the beneficiaries of the will, but not always, and the court needs to know about them either way. We help the executor or administrator of a Brooklyn estate fill the petition out correctly.
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The supporting documents
The petition needs supporting documents: the death certificate, a copy of the funeral bill and various affidavits proving the relationship to the person who died. The file may also include death and birth certificates of the various people involved, notices to tax authorities, affidavits of heirship, citations, notices of probate and other documents. We obtain all of them.
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Filing, follow-up and hearings
We submit the petition and the supporting documents to the probate court, then follow up with the court to make sure the documents are sufficient, that nothing more is required, and that the court accepts what was filed. There can be one or more court hearings in a probate case, and we attend all of them to represent our client before the court.
Whether you wish to be appointed executor or administrator, you are trying to prevent someone else from being appointed, or you are a beneficiary who wants to monitor what is happening in the estate, we are there to represent your interest and make sure your goal is met.
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Locating and valuing assets
Some estates have assets that are easy to locate, and some assets are harder to find. We sometimes use a private investigator, but there is a great deal we can do ourselves: we advise the client where to look, and we subpoena the financial institutions that may hold the assets. To choose which institutions make sense, we ask the client where the person who died liked to bank, look at a map of the area around the address where the person lived, and subpoena the most common financial institutions, such as Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Fidelity, U.S. Bank, Capital One, Bank of America, PNC Bank and TD Bank.
Some assets have a straightforward value and some are hard to value. We argue your preferred value to the beneficiaries, the IRS and the court.
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Disagreements, accountings and trial
Disagreements can arise in the course of a probate proceeding. The most common are a will contest, where someone challenges the validity of the will, usually claiming that the person who made it lacked mental capacity or was unduly influenced to benefit a particular person, and a contested accounting, where a beneficiary claims that an executor is stealing from the estate or mismanaging it. We help our client prevail in those disputes or come to a successful compromise.
We also draft and submit the estate accounting and defend it before the court, and when a dispute cannot be settled we conduct the trial before the judge or the jury so that you have the best possible chance of prevailing. If your estate has disagreements, look for a probate lawyer with a track record of results; it matters for your chance of getting the inheritance you are entitled to.
Winding up a Brooklyn estate
As an executor, administrator, beneficiary or creditor, you will find that winding up a Brooklyn estate involves many things. A Brooklyn probate lawyer understands the local probate timelines and can handle each stage for you.
| Stage | What we handle |
|---|---|
| Getting started | Determining whether there is a will; a reading of the will (not a requirement, but sometimes done); obtaining the death certificate. |
| Appointment | Filing the probate petition in the Surrogate’s Court and obtaining the Letters Testamentary. |
| Assets and creditors | Compiling an inventory of the estate assets and a list of creditors; obtaining appraisals of personal and real property. |
| Distribution | Assisting with the sale of assets, payment to creditors and distribution of assets to beneficiaries; helping resolve disputes among heirs or beneficiaries that may arise. |
| Closing | Winding up and closing the estate. |
Every estate involves different matters, and unexpected situations arise that family members are not prepared to deal with at such a delicate and emotional time. An experienced Brooklyn probate lawyer who knows how the courts here work can handle the estate in a way that is more efficient and less stressful and that saves time and money, especially where substantial assets are involved: real estate to be sold in one or more states, stocks, bonds and other personal property, and distributions to charities and to beneficiaries who may include children from previous marriages as well as current and former spouses.
The Brooklyn probate process
If you are the person in charge of the estate and are going to be probating a will, here is roughly what the process looks like.
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You get appointed by the court
The court appoints you to be in charge of the estate, after the petition, supporting documents and any hearing described above.
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Locate estate property
You find and take control of what the estate owns, with subpoenas to financial institutions where needed.
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Pay the decedent’s debts and taxes
Claims against the estate and the taxes that are due are dealt with out of the estate.
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Resolve any disagreements
A will contest, a contested accounting or a dispute over value is settled or tried.
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Distribute the remainder
Finally, what is left is distributed to the heirs and the estate is closed.
Those steps can vary and they can overlap, and to succeed you have to complete each one carefully. The process is filled with technicalities, deadlines, traps for the unwary and red tape, whether someone died without a will or you are probating one. Most people are not trained to resolve probate issues on their own, which is why an attorney who handles probate matters and knows state and federal tax and inheritance law will usually get an estate resolved in a relatively timely and efficient manner.
If you would like to hire a Brooklyn probate lawyer, call the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected] and we will set up a time to discuss your probate proceeding.
