Articles Posted in Probate & Estate Administration

If the individual who died (i.e., the “decedent”) had a valid Will, the decedent is said to die testate. The executor named in the decedent’s Will must offer the Will for probate in the Surrogate’s Court in the county in which the Decedent was domiciled at the time of his death. All of the decedent’s…

In New York State, the Surrogate’s Court decides what happens to a person’s property when that person dies. The Judge in Surrogate’s Court is called the Surrogate. The person who died is called the Decedent. That person’s property is called the estate. When a person dies and leaves a Will then they died testate. If…

The spousal right of election must be made within 6 months from the date of the issuance of letters testamentary. New York Estates Powers and Trust Law (EPTL) Section 5-1.1-A provides a right of election for the surviving spouse to take a share of his or her spouse’s estate, no matter what the will provides.…

Internal Revenue Code §2040 sets forth rules dealing with the extent to which property which a decedent co-owned with one or more other parties is includable in decedent’s gross estate. The rules differ, depending upon the form of joint ownership and whether the co-owners are husband and wife. Tenants In Common Tenancy in common is…

As relayed by the staff at the New York County Surrogate’s Court: As part of the measures adopted by the NYS Unified Court System to combat the spread of COVID-19, the following actions are being implemented by the New York County Surrogate’s Court effective April 13, 2020: At this time, the court is addressing all…

Internal Revenue Code Section 6166(a)(1) provides that an executor may elect to pay all or a portion of the estate tax attributable to a closely held business in two (2) or more equal annual installments (no more than 10 annual installments are allowed). Requirements to qualify: An interest in a closely held business is defined…

There are two kinds of taxes potentially owed by an estate: One on the transfer of assets from the decedent (the person who died) to their beneficiaries (the estate tax), and another on income generated by the assets held by the decedent’s estate (the income tax). This post discusses when an estate is required to…

The Surrogate’s Court is the court in New York where all matters relating to Wills and Trusts are determined. The Surrogate is the title of the judge in this particular court, and each county in New York has at least one Surrogate (New York County, covering Manhattan, has two). The Surrogate’s Court handles, among other…

It is the Executor’s responsibility to locate all of the decedent’s assets, pay the taxes on them, if any, and distribute them to the people named as beneficiaries in the Will. Estate assets include bank accounts, 401(k) plans, IRAs, pension plans, stocks, bonds, brokerage accounts, real estate, co-ops, partnership interests, intellectual property, life insurance, social…

Beginning May 13, only individuals with tax identification numbers… either a Social Security number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) may request an employer identification number (EIN). This new requirement, recently announced by the IRS, will provide greater security to the EIN process by requiring an individual to be the responsible party and…