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for probate or administration. Filing fees
are paid on a sliding scale depending on
the size of the estate.
Under New York State law, certain people
are entitled to notice of the probate or
administration of the estate - namely
the beneficiaries, fiduciaries, and “heirs
at law” of the decedent. The probate or
administration process will be substantially
simplified if these individuals consent to
the relief requested in the probate or
administration petition, and waive the
issuance of formal process. This will be
the case where there are no objections to
the appointment of the name fiduciary or
applicant, and there are no objections to
the disposition of assets provided for in
the will. If the persons entitled to notice
do not consent to the relief requested in
the petition and waive the issuance of
formal process, then the Court will issue a
“citation” to appear in Court on a certain
day, and each non- consenting person
must be formally served in accordance
with New York State law.
Presuming the administration or probate
petition is accepted, the executor or
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administrator will receive their letters
testamentary from the Surrogate’s Court.
Original certificates will be required for
a variety of purposes, and so we advise
our clients to obtain several extra copies.
The executor will need these certificates
in order to transfer title to any assets (i.e.
funds in bank accounts, sell real estate),
and to open the estate bank account.
TIP: If you are the fiduciary of a loved
one’s estate, check the office of
unclaimed funds via the New York State
Comptroller’s website to see whether the
decedent is entitled to any “unclaimed
funds”.
Once the executor or administrator has
located and gathered all of the assets
of the decedent, they will manage the
funds in a prudent manner, pay off the
decedent’s debts and distribute the
funds as per the terms of the decedent’s
will, or else as per the laws of intestacy of
the State of New York.
For purposes of brevity, we have
substantially simplified the description
of the probate or administration process.