- When a person dies without a Will (which is called “intestate”) and the closest relatives are cousins.
- When
3 Questions in Every New Probate Case
When I refer to a “probate case”, I am talking about any situation where someone has died and somebody is talking to me about it.
There are 3 main areas I ask questions about. Asking these questions helps me figure out what needs to be done, helps me analyze possible scenarios, and helps me decide
Inheritance Rights of “Cousins” in New York
When people refer to “cousins”, in a way that covers a variety of relationships. For family and social purposes there isn’t much difference between first cousins, second cousins and “cousins once removed. But for legal purposes when inheritances are involved, there are big differences. The distinctions arise in two particular situations:
- When a person dies
Types of Proof in Kinship Cases
As noted in previous posts, aunts/uncles/cousins CAN inherit, if they can disprove the prior inheritance classes (spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings/nieces/nephews) and prove their own relationship and identify and account for everyone at their inheritance level. This generally arises when the Public Administrator is filing a Accounting with the Court and refers to the cousins
Inheritance Rights of Cousins in New York Surrogate’s Court
People often use the “cousin” terms loosely, as if they were interchangeable. For social purposes they are interchangeable, but legally they are decidedly NOT. This distinction arises in two particular situations:
- When a person dies without a Will (which is called “intestate”) and the closest relatives are cousins.
- When a Will is being offered for