Albert Goodwin is a Brooklyn estate lawyer who handles estate litigation, probate and estate planning in the Kings County Surrogate’s Court. He has represented clients in Brooklyn estates since he began practicing in 2008, and although the practice now covers all of New York City, Brooklyn clients still get his personal attention.
Our Brooklyn office is at 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, tel. 212-233-1233.
Estate law has several distinct sides — planning and executing an estate plan, administering an estate as executor or administrator, and litigating over an estate — and each is handled in the Kings County Surrogate’s Court under its own procedures. What follows is how we approach each, and what makes Brooklyn estates different from estates elsewhere in the city.
Estate Litigation
Any estate can end up in litigation, whether by objecting to a will or defending one in the Kings County Surrogate’s Court.
We represent both objectants and proponents. Will contests in Kings County most often involve the disinheritance of long-standing family members in favor of caregivers or newer family connections; capacity questions where the testator was elderly and had dementia or other cognitive problems; undue influence claims against family members or caregivers who held positions of trust; improper execution of wills prepared without attorney supervision; multiple competing wills left by the same testator; and family business succession disputes where the will does not clearly deal with business interests. Each case turns on its own facts, and the work is careful investigation, a focused legal theory and effective presentation in court. Our page on will contests explains the grounds in more detail.
Estate Planning
A plan should say exactly how your property is to be distributed when you die, and be executed so that it holds up.
Planning matters most when an estate holds substantial real and personal property, when there may be a guardianship of minor children, or when there are other complications. We draft the plan with attention to the tax consequences of the will, to trusts for loved ones, and to heading off litigation among family members so that your wishes are actually followed. What a will says and how it is executed can be more complex than it looks, and both are easy to get wrong without help. See our estate planning page for the documents involved.
Several strategic issues recur in Brooklyn planning. New York’s estate tax exemption ($7.35M for deaths in 2026, indexed) has a “cliff”: estates exceeding the exemption by more than 5% lose the exemption entirely, so planning around the cliff is important for estates near the threshold; our estate tax cliff calculator shows the effect. The federal exemption ($15M per person in 2026, permanent and indexed for inflation) is much higher than New York’s, so the planning considerations differ at different wealth levels. The step-up in basis at death can save substantial capital gains tax on appreciated Brooklyn real estate. Pre-tax retirement accounts have their own distribution rules that affect the plan. Charitable gifts can be structured efficiently through bequests, charitable remainder trusts or other vehicles. And trusts that benefit multiple generations require attention to the GST tax and other multi-generational concerns.
Executor or Administrator Services
Being the representative of an estate is more than distributing money.
When a loved one dies and you are responsible for the estate as executor or administrator, we guide you through probating and settling the estate in the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court. Specific laws govern how estate assets must be distributed, particularly where creditors have claims against the estate. You must also account properly for every estate asset to the beneficiaries and heirs and protect those assets in the meantime. An executor or administrator who fails in these duties can be held personally responsible for the error; doing the job correctly is what eliminates that personal exposure. Our pages on Brooklyn probate and estate accountings cover the process.
Kings County Surrogate’s Court
The court has jurisdiction over estate matters for decedents who lived in Brooklyn at the time of death.
It sits at 2 Johnson Street, near Borough Hall and close to Cadman Plaza, and handles thousands of estate matters a year: probate of wills and appointment of executors; administration of intestate estates and appointment of administrators; will contests and objection proceedings; accounting proceedings and contested accountings; construction proceedings to interpret ambiguous wills; discovery and turnover proceedings to recover estate assets; removal proceedings against fiduciaries; kinship determinations to identify rightful heirs; and compromise and settlement agreements.
The court is procedurally rigorous. Petitions and supporting documents must be properly prepared, properly served and properly filed, and local practice matters: Brooklyn practice differs in some respects from practice in Manhattan or the other boroughs.
What Makes Brooklyn Estates Different
Brooklyn’s population produces a wide range of estate situations, and real estate dominates the asset side of most of them.
Multi-generational immigrant families often hold wealth that crosses borders, with assets in several countries and family members in different jurisdictions, so international estate planning comes into play. Many Brooklyn families own closely held businesses passed down through generations, and succession planning for those businesses has to attend to family dynamics as well as tax efficiency. Brooklyn real estate values create estate tax exposure for families without much liquid wealth, so tax planning matters even for “middle-class” families. The borough has a large number of co-op apartments, whose transfer rules and approval requirements complicate administration. And many Brooklyn families have religious considerations that shape the plan, from charitable giving to family structure to particular traditions.
| Real estate issue | Why it matters in a Brooklyn estate |
|---|---|
| Appreciation | Property bought decades ago for modest sums may be worth millions today, so tax basis considerations become critical. |
| Brownstones and townhouses | Multi-family buildings often have rental units, mortgages and complicated ownership histories. |
| Co-op approval | Transferring a co-op apartment to a beneficiary requires board approval, which can be complex and slow. |
| Rent-stabilized tenants | Buildings with rent-stabilized tenants face additional complications when ownership changes. |
| Family living arrangements | Family members living in estate property raise questions about future occupancy and rights. |
The Brooklyn Real Estate Aspect of Probate
Passing Brooklyn real estate through probate raises a set of specific tasks that have to be completed before a clean transfer.
| Task | What has to happen |
|---|---|
| Title | Many Brooklyn properties have complex title histories that must be cleared for a clean transfer. |
| Mortgage | An existing mortgage must be dealt with by assumption, refinance or payoff. |
| Property tax records | NYC property tax records must be updated to the new ownership. |
| STAR exemption | The school tax exemption on a primary residence may need to be reassigned or terminated. |
| Senior citizen exemption | Special tax exemptions held by a deceased senior generally do not transfer to heirs. |
| Building violations | Open Department of Buildings violations must be addressed. |
| Maintenance arrears | Co-op maintenance and condo common charges must be brought current. |
How We Work
Good Brooklyn estate practice combines technical proficiency in estate law with familiarity with Kings County Surrogate’s Court practice, an understanding of Brooklyn’s communities and their concerns, experience with the assets common in Brooklyn estates (especially real estate), sensitivity to family dynamics and cultural considerations, responsiveness to clients whose needs are often urgent, and coordination with accountants, financial advisors and real estate professionals where needed. If you have any need relating to an estate in Brooklyn, call Albert Goodwin at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].
