Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: equal distribution of money

Since the Will directs that the distributions be equal, you must establish the value of each parcel of real property. My suggestion is that you obtain a professional appraisal for each parcel. A qualified real estate appraiser will include all relevant factors to determine the value of each parcel including income produced.

Re: equal distribution of money

I agree with Rudolf, if this is strictly what the Will provides, as I have not seen the language. If you could get me the language, I could give a better answer. What else does the Will say? For example, it might say that the estate is to be equally divided, including the houses, in which case if there is some actual value differebce between the properties, other assets must be allocated to give effect to the Will. If property is rented, rental income does factor into its value, and how it is valued differs from non-rental real estate valuation. Best is to have all properties appraised, by an agreed-upon appraisor, although this can be costly. Maybe the place to start is with a local real estate broker, familiar with rental and non-rental properties to get what they call "comprables" (recent sales prices for similar property), and also look at tax assessments if 100% of fair market value is used.