Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
What can I do if when my dad died, my sister.who was named as Executor, did not file the will in the Bronx Surrogate Court, and even though she was named as executor by my dad, she filed to become a Voluntary Administrator and claims that he had no assets to be distributed. I was named as beneficiary of several valuable items in his will, which she claims do not exist. I have a copy of the will and also a list of the items he left to me. What can I do? He died with a valid will, yet she did not claim he had a will.
2 Answers from Attorneys
There is a proceeding you can begin in Surrogate's Court to have her produce the original will. In addition, you can bring a proceeding to probate a copy of a "lost" will and, if successful, be named as Administrator of the estate. As far as the missing assets, you do not indicate what they are. However, if you can establish that your father still had them when he died, and that your sister removed them, your sister could be held accountable for their value.
In examining this response, please note that we are not entering into an attorney/client relationship, that this is to be taken as informative, and not as legal advice, that it is always best to speak to a lawyer in your area and/or in the area where the transaction and/or events occurred, and that my answer is necessarily limited by the fact that I have not seen the documentation or had an opportunity to go over the matters with you in detail.
You need to file aan objection to her petitioning for Administration based on the fact that a will exists and attach a copy.
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