Working With New York's Public Administrators
All counties in New York state have their own Public Administrator. This officer is responsible for the administration of estates when no close family member (someone nearer in relation than a first cousin) can be located, or when nobody else is legally qualified to act.
I work frequently with client's who first received word of a loved one's death from the Public Administrator's office or from a commercial genealogy company.
Call 718-793-1133 if You Received Notice From the Public Administrator or From a Genealogy Company
No matter where you live in the New York metropolitan area or anywhere in the world, contact Barry Seidel & Associates, Attorneys at Law, if you have received notice of a relative's death from a New York Public Administrator or from a genealogy company. I help cousins, uncles, aunts and more distant relations realize their fair share of a relative's estate when closer relatives don't exist or can't be located.
The Public Administrator's duties are substantially the same as those of an executor under a will, or a court-appointed administrator when there's no will — notifying heirs and creditors, assembling and liquidating assets, paying claims, filing reports and distributing assets to heirs. Sometimes the Public Administrator finds a will when taking possession of the decedent's personal effects; if this happens, an executor will be appointed to administer the estate from that point forward.
My law firm advises people about their right to share in the assets of an estate administered by a County Public Administrator. In a case where there is no surviving spouse, child, parent, sibling or grandchild, such relatives as cousins, uncles and aunts can establish the right to inherit under New York's intestacy laws, but only on the condition that they prove not only their own kinship, but the nonexistence of any other relative with a superior right.
For example, a cousin can inherit on an equal basis with all other cousins upon proof of the relationship and the disproof of any living relation with a superior claim under the intestate succession laws. At Barry Seidel & Associates, I know how to work with lay witnesses and experts alike, presenting evidence in a clear and persuasive manner. If you are legally entitled to inherit, I can help secure your rights.
If you receive notice of a relative's death from the Public Administrator in Queens, New York City, Long Island or Westchester, it is likely that your relative died without a will or without any closer relatives. I can help you take the steps necessary to advance your claim and represent your interests in the estate.
From Out of State, Call Toll Free at 888-710-0154
For the advice of a lawyer with a detailed understanding of the public estate administration process in New York City and for issues involving Public Administrators, contact the office of Barry Seidel & Associates in Forest Hills, Queens.
