Trust and Estate Accounting Lawyers in New York City

As trust and estate accounting lawyers, we prepare trust and estate accountings for executors and trustees, and review and sometimes object to accountings for beneficiaries.

Accounting Proceedings

Accounting proceedings generally signify the end of the management of the estate. At this time, the executor or administrator has already gathered the decedent’s assets and paid for the decedent’s debts. All that is left is to distribute the remaining balance to the decedent’s heirs or beneficiaries.

The first step in accounting proceedings is to prepare the informal accounting. Even if the accounting is termed informal, it is important for an accounting lawyer to observe the rules and schedules provided by the state with regard to the preparation of the accounting schedules. This ensures that, should there be objections to the accounting, said informal accounting can easily be converted into a formal accounting simply by filing a petition for voluntary accounting.

Many estate lawyers represent that they are estate or trust accounting lawyers, even without the experience of preparing the accounting schedules for the court. Sometimes, the preparation of their accounting schedules are inaccurate and not within the standard for submission to courts. It is important to get an experienced accounting lawyer if you want to make sure that no objections can be made regarding inaccuracies in your accounting schedules.

Kinship Hearings

Kinship hearings are part of accounting proceedings, which aim to identify who are the legal heirs or distributees of the deceased. This occurs when there are challenges on who are the rightful heirs of the estate. It may involve questions about who are the children of the deceased, especially those illegitimate children of the father where paternity has to be established or who are the cousins of the deceased, when there are no parents, spouse, children, aunts or uncles.

Preparation of Receipts and Releases

The accounting lawyer prepares the receipt, release and indemnification for the beneficiaries or heirs of an estate. This legal document states that the amount or bequest has been received by the heir or beneficiary, that said heir or beneficiary releases the executor or administrator from further liability regarding the management of the estate, and promises to indemnify the executor or administrator in case there are future legal actions against the executor or administrator that can arise after the distribution of the estate.

Dispute Resolution

Accounting lawyers also engage in dispute resolution. Most of the time, when an informal accounting is submitted to the beneficiaries, some of the beneficiaries object to the accounting. When accounting reports are properly made, the objections usually do not involve improper recording, but instead, a claim for surcharge due to a conflict of interest by the administrator or executor. An example of such conflict would be the sale of estate property to a relative of the executor or administrator for an amount below market value.

When there are objections like these, an accounting lawyers acts as the client’s representative in dispute resolution. Instead of going through more expensive court proceedings, lawyers from both sides negotiate to arrive at a settlement where both parties can agree on a proper amount to avoid litigation.

Accounting proceedings can be a complex matter. It is important to have an experienced accounting lawyer to help prepare in the accounting schedules to ensure that no mistakes are made and the possibility of objections being raised are minimized. Should you need legal representation, we, at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, are here for you. We have offices in New York City, Brooklyn, NY and Queens, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].