Page 31 - O'Shea Funeral Guide
P. 31
A list of assets including: the petition and waive the issuance
of formal process, then the Court
1. Real Estate will issue a “citation” to appear in
2. Bank and Brokerage Accounts Court on a certain day, and each non-
3. Vehicles consenting person must be formally
4. Retirement Accounts served in accordance with New York
5. Annuities State law.
6. Insurance Policies
7. Valuable Collections Presuming the administration or
probate petition is accepted, the
The above documents and information executor or administrator will receive
will assist your attorney in drafting the their letters testamentary from the
probate or administration petition for Surrogate’s Court. Original certificates
your loved one’s estate. It is important will be required for a variety of
to note that the IRS form 706 - the purposes, and so we advise our clients
estate tax return - must be filed within to obtain several extra copies. The
nine months of the death of the executor will need these certificates
decedent (or within the six months in order to transfer title to any assets
extension window if one is timely (i.e. funds in bank accounts, sell real
applied for). estate), and to open the estate bank
account.
The probate or administration
processes are formal judicial TIP: If you are the fiduciary of a
proceedings which take place in the loved one’s estate, check the office
decedent’s county’s Surrogate Court. of unclaimed funds via the New York
If you are the nominated executor, State Comptroller’s website to see
or a person eligible to serve as whether the decedent is entitled to
administrator, you should consult any “unclaimed funds”.
with your attorney and provide the
information and documents listed Once the executor or administrator has
above. Your attorney will prepare the located and gathered all of the assets
petition for probate or administration. of the decedent, they will manage the
Filing fees are paid on a sliding scale funds in a prudent manner, pay off
depending on the size of the estate. the decedent’s debts and distribute
the funds as per the terms of the
Under New York State law, certain decedent’s will, or else as per the laws
people are entitled to notice of the of intestacy of the State of New York.
probate or administration of the estate
- namely the beneficiaries, fiduciaries, For purposes of brevity, we have
and “heirs at law” of the decedent. substantially simplified the description
The probate or administration process of the probate or administration
will be substantially simplified if process. The proceedings can be
these individuals consent to the lengthy, and may involved hard-fought
relief requested in the probate or litigation, especially in the case of
administration petition, and waive distant heirs, or family disputes. There
the issuance of formal process. This are many subtle nuances to each
will be the case where there are no situation, and so it is advisable to
objections to the appointment of the meet with an experienced attorney to
name fiduciary or applicant, and there discuss the best way to proceed, and
are no objections to the disposition to guide you in your decision making
of assets provided for in the will. If process.
the persons entitled to notice do not
consent to the relief requested in
O’Shea Funeral Homes - Page 31
