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I focus my private practice on Surrogate's Court matters, including probate and estate administration, kinship/cousin cases with the Public Administrator, and the appointment of fiduciaries for wrongful death cases.  I also consult with other attorneys regarding practice development and law office management.

In this article we will review the inheritance rights of first cousins, first cousins once removed, and second cousins under New York law.

People often use the “cousin” terms loosely, as if they were interchangeable.  For family and social purposes they are interchangeable, but legally they are decidedly NOT.  This distinction arises in two particular

Under New York law, when a person dies without a Will, sometimes  first cousins CAN inherit, subject to certain special rules.

The most significant rule is that while first cousins can inherit, generally they cannot serve as fiduciary.  This job goes to the Public Administrator if the County has one (5 boros, Nassau, Suffolk and

When I refer to a “probate case”, I am talking about any situation where someone has died and now someone else is in my office.

In these situations there are 3 main areas I ask questions about.  I can’t think of a situation where these questions would not be asked.  Asking these questions helps me

Sometimes people write down their wishes or give written directions regarding what they want done after they die.  Sometimes they even call it a Will.

Will these be considered a Will?   NO

Sometimes people who would benefit from such writings ask me, as a lawyer, to bring these writings to the Courts attention.  They are

If a fiduciary (in NY it’s an “Administrator” if no Will and “Executor” if there is) has to file an Accounting, where should they start?  What should they do?

The Answer is to know what you should have been doing all along, and if you haven’t been, get caught up as much and as quickly

When someone is a fiduciary (Executor or Administrator) of an Estate, they are accountable to the people who have an interest in the Estate.  This includes the beneficiaries.  When they are doing their job correctly, they are transparent, honest, and communicative.

What if they aren’t doing those things?  What if they are being secretive, or

When I start representing someone who is about to become a Fiduciary (Executor or Administrator) of an Estate, I always talk about “how an Estate finishes”.  Like many things in life and business, if you know where you are trying to go it is much easier to make a good plan to get there.

Not