Albert Goodwin is a Brooklyn probate attorney who helps executors open estates and settle probate proceedings without unneeded expense or delay. We represent executors in probate proceedings and administrators in estate proceedings, and we follow the matter from the first filing of the petition to the order discharging the fiduciary.
What We Do for a Nominated Executor
If you have been nominated as executor of a will, we draft the petition for probate, the waivers, notices, citations and the other documents needed for your appointment, make sure they are signed by all the appropriate parties, deliver them to the court, track the proceeding, and supply corrections or additional documents as the court requires. Once you are appointed, we advise you through the administration of the estate, including the marshaling of assets and the discharge of liabilities.
We also advise on post-mortem planning alternatives such as asset valuation options, disclaimers, elections for tax deferral or exclusions and other tax options; review the estate tax and fiduciary income tax returns prepared by an accounting firm you engage separately; and, at your option, prepare the final accounting and the related notices, waivers, consents and decrees needed to close the estate. Along the way we help you inventory, collect and appraise the estate’s assets, decide which creditors need to be paid, and distribute what remains in a way that preserves the estate and benefits the beneficiaries.
The questions people most often ask a probate attorney have their own pages here: how Brooklyn probate works, the timeline for Brooklyn probate, what happens when there is property in more than one state, what to do when someone dies, and a more detailed FAQ.
The Kings County Surrogate’s Court
Brooklyn probate cases are filed at the Kings County Surrogate’s Court at 2 Johnson Street in downtown Brooklyn. The court handles the largest caseload of any borough except Manhattan, its procedures are well established and consistent, and it has its own preferences for how filings are organized. The court has been working through significant backlogs, which means a filing prepared with attention to detail clears review faster than one that has to be corrected. We aim to file cleanly the first time, because that is what keeps a case moving.
The Probate Petition and Supporting Documents
An uncontested Brooklyn probate filing typically contains the following.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Petition for probate | Identifies the decedent, the will, the proposed executor, the family tree and the assets. |
| Original will | With codicils, if any. |
| Original death certificate | Proof of death. |
| Witness affidavits | From the will witnesses, unless a self-proving affidavit was attached to the will. |
| Waivers and consents | From beneficiaries and distributees who agree to the appointment. |
| Notice of probate | Served on persons who have not waived. |
| Filing fee | Varies with the size of the estate. |
| Form RP-5217 and other tax forms | Required if real estate is involved. |
Once filed, the court reviews the petition and either accepts it for processing or returns it with deficiency notices. A clean filing is accepted on the first submission; a flawed one can bounce back two or three times, adding weeks or months to the timeline.
Brooklyn Real Estate in Probate
Brooklyn has been one of the strongest real estate markets in New York for years, and brownstones, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops have appreciated substantially. An estate with Brooklyn real estate often has a single asset worth more than everything else combined, and that asset has to be marshalled, maintained and ultimately transferred or sold during the probate.
Four issues come up repeatedly. Co-op boards must approve transfers of shares, which adds a step whose requirements vary widely from building to building. Active mortgages and HELOCs must be paid off, assumed or refinanced as part of any transfer. Properties with tenants require coordination with rent regulation rules, lease terms and tenant rights. And older Brooklyn deeds sometimes carry errors, undischarged mortgages or other title problems that surface during the estate sale. We work with title companies, real estate brokers and accountants familiar with the Brooklyn market to handle each of these.
Contested Brooklyn Probate
Not every probate is uncontested. Brooklyn families sometimes disagree about who should serve as executor, whether the will is valid, or how the estate should be distributed. The contests we see most often involve allegations of undue influence by a family member who became close to the decedent late in life; lack of testamentary capacity where the will was signed during cognitive decline; improper execution of a homemade or non-attorney-prepared will; disputes over whether a prior will was validly revoked; and challenges to specific bequests on grounds of mistake or scrivener’s error.
Contested probate moves on a different track. Examinations under SCPA 1404, formal objections, discovery, motion practice and ultimately settlement or trial all become possibilities. We handle contested probate throughout Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs, whether we are defending the will for the nominated executor or pressing objections for a family member who was cut out.
Related Estate Matters
Probate is one piece of estate work. Our Brooklyn clients often also need administration of an intestate estate where there is no will, small estate (voluntary) administration where the estate qualifies, accounting proceedings to close an estate or to address disputes about an executor’s conduct, kinship proceedings to identify and prove the distributees, and estate planning to spare the next generation these complications.
The Executor’s Timeline
A typical uncontested Brooklyn probate moves through these milestones.
- 1
Weeks 1 to 2
Initial consultation, gathering of documents, drafting of the petition.
- 2
Weeks 3 to 4
Filing of the petition with the court.
- 3
Weeks 4 to 12
Court review, processing of waivers and citations.
- 4
Weeks 12 to 16
Issuance of letters testamentary.
- 5
Months 4 to 12
Marshalling of assets, payment of debts, filing of tax returns.
- 6
Months 12 to 18
Distribution to beneficiaries, accounting, closing.
Complex or contested estates take longer. Real estate sales, business interests and significant tax issues can each extend the timeline considerably, and we set expectations realistically at the start of every engagement.
Talk to a Brooklyn Probate Attorney
If a family member has died and you need help with probate, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin at 212-233-1233 or [email protected]. We handle probate throughout Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs, including contested probate and complex estates.
