Probate Brooklyn

Probate is arnprocess which validates and pronounces Last Will and Testament of Individual asrnvalid and effective for purposes of estate administration and assetrndistribution.

If you havernhad a loved one pass away recently, you may have found that their Will has tornpass through probate court before debts of the decedent ?may be paid and thernremaining assets of the decedent may be distributed to the beneficiaries.rnDepending on the size and complexity of the estate itself, this process canrntake anywhere from few weeks to several years. If you are a beneficiary of thernestate, or involved in it in any other way, it is important to understand whatrnto expect and to have the help you need.

Probaternprocess includes several steps. This will provide you with an outline of whatrnto expect while this event is taking place.

Petition –rnWhen an original Will of the decedent is discovered by the surviving spouse orrnchildren, the probate process will begin by filing a probate petition with thernprobate court. When this occurs, all heirs and beneficiaries must also bernnotified that a court hearing will take place. If at a later point later Willrnis discovered by someone else or if there are allegations of the fraudulentrnactivity, the actual Will or a Will produced under undue influence, thernobjection to probate will be filed with the court and this will lead to arnhearing.

NotifyingrnCreditors – New York has laws on how creditors are notified of the decedent’srndeath and how such creditors must go about presenting claims to the executor.rnThe estate fiduciary has an obligation to dispute all claims, except properlyrnowed, legally enforceable obligations.

Inventoryrn& Valuation – All assets within the estate need to be identified and theirrnvalue must be established using prescribed methods of valuation. This will bernhandled by the representative of the estate, Executor or Administrator.

Distributionrnof Assets – Once all debts have been paid, all remaining assets will berndistributed to the beneficiaries of the estate or trusts will be funded. Thisrnis done according to the provisions of the Will or Revocable Trust, if there isrnone.

There arernmany tax elections that may be made by the executor in order to take advantagernof various deductions and =credits available to the estate.

Oncerneverything has been distributed, the probate process is over and the estate isrnclosed.