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

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

There are two types of Surrogate’s Court Petitions that often give a lot a value. These are:

Petition to Compel Production of a Will and Petition to Compel an Accounting. These are proceedings that can be used when you are trying to get things going and nothing is happening.   Not only are these petitions relatively

Basic definition – A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other asset for another person.

When doing Wills or handling Estates, we are often talking about fiduciaries.  A