Someone has to settle the estate. It does not have to be alone.
Being named executor is an honor and a job. I handle the Surrogate’s Court side so you can handle the family side, on a flat fee with no hourly billing.
📞(518) 313-3090Call or text, I answer my own phoneWhat the process involves
When someone dies owning assets in their own name, those assets usually cannot be transferred until the Surrogate’s Court authorizes someone to act. That authority comes as Letters Testamentary if there is a will, or Letters of Administration if there is not.
Probate, when there is a will
The will is filed with the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent lived. Heirs receive notice, the court admits the will, and the named executor receives Letters Testamentary, the document banks and transfer agents will actually accept.
Administration, when there is no will
New York’s intestacy statute determines who inherits and who has priority to serve as administrator. The process is similar but often slower, particularly when heirs are scattered or unknown.
Small estate proceedings
Where the estate’s personal property falls under the statutory threshold, a simplified voluntary administration may be available, which is faster and considerably less expensive than full probate.
Administering the estate
Once appointed, the work begins: marshalling assets, notifying creditors, paying valid claims and expenses, handling the estate’s tax filings, accounting to the beneficiaries, distributing what remains, and closing the estate properly so the fiduciary is discharged.
What you are responsible for
An executor is a fiduciary. That means you can be held personally liable for distributing assets before creditors and taxes are handled, for failing to account, or for treating beneficiaries unequally where the will did not allow it.
Most executors get into trouble not through bad faith but through moving too fast: paying a sympathetic beneficiary early, or closing an account before the tax picture is clear. Working through the sequence properly is most of the job.
Questions executors ask
How long does probate take in New York?
A straightforward estate with a valid will, cooperative heirs and simple assets often runs six months to a year. Complications extend it: a contested will, heirs who are hard to locate, real property to sell, or an estate large enough to require a federal or New York estate tax return.
Does everything go through probate?
No. Assets with a named beneficiary, such as life insurance, retirement accounts and transfer on death accounts, pass outside the estate, as does property held jointly with right of survivorship and anything titled in a trust. Sometimes very little is left to probate, which is one reason planning ahead matters.
What does it cost?
A flat fee, quoted before you retain, once I know the size and shape of the estate. There is no hourly billing and no running meter, so calling me with a question does not cost you anything.
Court filing fees are set by statute and based on the size of the estate. Those are separate and are paid to the court. In New York, attorney fees in estate matters are also subject to review by the Surrogate’s Court for reasonableness.
The decedent lived in another county. Can you still help?
Yes. Probate is filed in the county of the decedent’s domicile, and I handle matters throughout New York. Much of the process is paperwork and correspondence rather than court appearances.
What should I do first?
Secure the property, locate the original will if there is one, and do not distribute anything or close accounts yet. Then call. An early conversation prevents most of the problems that are expensive to unwind later.
The matters I take
I handle uncontested estates. That means the will is not being challenged, the heirs are not fighting each other, and nobody is objecting to who serves as fiduciary. Most estates look like this. The work is procedural, it moves predictably, and a flat fee covers it properly.
If a will contest is brewing, if beneficiaries are threatening to sue the executor, or if the estate is heading for a contested accounting, that is litigation rather than administration. I do not take those matters, and you are better served by a Surrogate’s Court litigator. Tell me on the first call and I will point you somewhere useful.
Just been named executor?
Call before you move any money. The first conversation is usually the one that saves the most trouble.
📞(518) 313-3090Call or text, I answer my own phone