Delaying Probate Can Be an Act of Self-Care

Procrastinating your own estate plan only makes sense; only the most organized and the most worry-prone people get started on their estate plans before they turn 60, unless something scary happens in their lives that makes them acutely aware of their own mortality. There is little incentive to make plans for what will happen to your property when you are no longer around to spend the money or deal with the debt collection notices. To make an estate plan, you must be emotionally mature enough to want to save your family and friends the stress of administering the estate of someone who did not bother to make any plans. If you think it is hard to get started on your own estate plan, it is even harder to get started on the legal process to distribute the property of a deceased family member. The process of estate administration moves quickly once it gets started, but nothing happens until you make the first move. For better or worse, the law does not set a deadline for opening a deceased person’s estate for probate or administration. If a family member of yours has recently died, and you are stuck on where to begin when it comes to settling the decedent’s estate, contact a Bronx probate attorney.

Do You Need Probate or Something Else?

Different states have different laws about the estates of deceased people, but New York only uses the term probate if the decedent wrote a will. Therefore, the process begins when someone presents the will to the probate court; the court then appoints the personal representative indicated in the decedent’s will.

If the decedent did not leave a will, anyone close to the decedent can open the estate by presenting the decedent’s death certificate to the probate court and asking to be appointed as personal representative. The court then distributes the decedent’s assets according to the laws of intestate succession. In practice, that means that the decedent’s closest surviving relatives inherit the decedent’s property. The creditor claims process in intestate administration is the same as it is in probate.

If the decedent’s property is valued at less than $50,000, the estate qualifies for small estate administration. The small estate administration process is the same regardless of whether the decedent wrote a will.

You Should Start Probate As Soon As You Are Ready, but Not Sooner

Most people open the estate within a few months of the decedent’s death, but there is no harm in waiting longer if you or the decedent’s other family members need time to grieve. Estate administration is easier if you are well prepared. If the decedent’s finances were in disarray, such as if the decedent died suddenly without making an estate plan, it might be helpful to work with a probate lawyer and organize matters before you open the estate.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney

An estate planning lawyer can help you administer the estate of a deceased relative.  Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.

Source:

nycourts.gov/courts/6jd/broome/Surrogate/HowToProceedDeath.shtml