Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Engaged womans fiance dies, what is she entitled to?

I'm sorry about the loss of your mother. Unless her late boyfriend had named her as a distributee in a will or they hadlived openly as husband and wife in a state which recognizes common law marriage, I'm afraid most likely your mother has no rights with respect to her fiancee's estate, if you would like to explore this further feel free to call to set an appointment for consult.

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Re: Engaged womans fiance dies, what is she entitled to?

Sorry to tell you that the State of New York does not recognize common law marriages, so the length of time they were together is inconsequential. You also stated that there was no will. Im sorry to tell you that as a result of these facts your mother has no rights in this situation... however, feel free to contact my office to further discuss this case if you would like.

Re: Engaged womans fiance dies, what is she entitled to?

Although your mother does not have any rights of inheritance or distribution from the estate, neither does the sister have any right to gather or distribute property in her personal capacity or by having "power of attorney". Further, the state is not automatically entitled to any property of which they shared ownership or which he may have given to your mother before his death. Consult an attorney as soon as possible and tell the sister that you will only deal with the estate's administrator (legal representative)