Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
estate distribution question
its a med mal wrongful death case, my wife died with no will, i have 2 step daughters, they were minors at the time of the death, one of them are adult and the other is now 17 and lives with her cousin, shes her guardian now, i am the administrator of estate, and i am suing individually, the case is venued in the bronx, however my wife passed in westchester cty. at the time we were planning a move permanently , i was already in the city, is the estate subject to the inestacy law? (sucession law)? it feels like the cousin might contest intestacy law? can she? or do i need to get a estate lawyer? what can i do to ensure that the case is distributed pursuent to intestacy law please help?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: estate distribution question
As the administrator of the estate, you control the estate and the lawsuit, but you must follow the laws of intestency. The 2 step-daughters, I presume are the daughters of your deceased wife and would be entitled to a legal portion of your deceased wife's estate - the percentage they receive is prescribed by law, as is yours. There is very little that the cousin can do to contest the amount that each would receive as the law on this is very clear.
As to the lawsuit, there is no estate unless there is a recovery. Your med-mal lawyer should have looked into this prior to the commencement of the lawsuit.
If you should need the services of an attorney please feel free to contact me. I have over 35 years of experience in med mal cases.
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