The Role of the Public Administrator in New York Probate Cases

The signs of our society’s loneliness epidemic. People look to Chat GPT for advice and even companionship, when they used to call their mothers for the former and text their friends for the latter. For every person who goes out on a limb to let small talk turn into big talk and to delight in the inherent awkwardness of human interactions, there are at least two who tell their food delivery apps to tell the driver to leave the food outside the apartment door and to text the customer once the driver is safely out of sight. Don’t even get journalists started on the birth rate, which is well below replacement level and is already getting lower, as young people browse Amazon for dog clothes they will never be able to afford instead of baby clothes they will never be able to afford. Real estate developers increasingly set their sights on building senior housing developments; apartment complexes with playgrounds are becoming a relic of a bygone era. The rising generation of seniors has dismal economic prospects, so even though they will never be wealthy, the inevitable happens to everyone, and their estates will eventually go through probate. For help envisioning what your estate plan, as a loner, should look like, or perhaps for a reality check that will make you put effort into becoming less of a loner, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.

What Happens When a Loner Dies Intestate?

All states, including New York, have laws about intestate succession, which is when a person dies without a will. Usually, a close family member of the decedent, will petition the probate court to open the estate and designate him or her as the personal representative. If the decedent had a spouse or children, they inherit the estate, but if not, then other relatives inherit it.

Likewise, probate is usually simple when people without any surviving close relatives die. In most cases, the decedent writes a will, designating a personal representative and bequeathing property to his or her friends or extended family members.

What happens when the decedent had neither a will nor surviving family close family members? Sometimes a friend or distant relative of the decedent comes forward to act as personal representative. If not, the task falls to the Public Administrator’s office. The Public Administrator will make a reasonable effort to locate relatives of the decedent who stand to inherit, They will also notify creditors that the estate is open for probate and, if applicable, settle creditor claims. If there is money left at the end, and the Public Administrator has not found relatives of the decedent to inherit it, the money goes to the Comptroller’s Office, but if long-lost relatives later find out that the estate has settled, they can go to the Comptroller’s Office to claim the money.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney

An estate planning lawyer can help you make an estate plan even if you are a solitary person, and there is no one to inherit from you.  Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.

Source:

nyc.gov/site/nycountypa/index.page#:~:text=The%20Public%20Administrator’s%20primary%20duties,any%20estate%20it%20is%20administering.