Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Executor and Attorney

It all depends on your interest in the Estate. Are you a beneficiary? If so, you are entitled to all information regarding your interest.

Sometimes a lawyer can get answers that are not forthcoming to a layman.

Re: Executor and Attorney

Have you verified you were named in the Will? You can get a copy from the Surrogate's Office in the County where your grandmother resided at her death. If you are not mentioned, you have no standing unless you are going to contest the Will. If you were named in the Will, you should have received a Notice of Probate from the Executor or the attorney. Normally an accounting is not submitted until all matters involved with the estate have been resolved. These could include the evaluation of assets, possible liquidation of assets other than cash, title clearance, tax reporting and approval by the taxing authority, and other administrative matters. If you are a legitimate heir (one named in the Will or one taking by substitution, e.g., a child predeceased and the grandchild gets the parent's share) communications should receive a response. More information as to your rights, if any, in the estate are needed to provide more than a general response. Merely being a grandchild does not mean you have an interest in the estate.

Re: Executor and Attorney

If you are not a beneficiary of the will or have no other interest, you may not be able to have any access to your Grandmother's will. If you do have a legitimate interest then check with the surrogate's court to see if the will was offered for probate. If so, it is a public record and you could view it. Or hire an attorney to represent your interests.

Re: Executor and Attorney

If you are a beneficiary, you have standing to demand an accounting. A copy of the will can be obtained from the Surrogate's Court in the county where your grandmother resided at the time of her death.

The attorney for the Executor should provide a copy to you.

Since you reside out of state, you may wish to retain an attorney in the county where she died.

Did you receive a Notice of Probate?

My comments are based on treating your question as a hypothetical. Accordingly, my comments could be substantially and materially different were I advised of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. My comments are by necessity general in nature, and should not be relied upon in taking or forgoing action in your circumstances without retaining an attorney. In order to fully explore your legal matter, you should meet with me or another attorney and bring to any such meeting all relevant documents and correspondence, and any other relevant facts.

I am not hired to be your attorney, and no attorney-client relationship exists between us, unless and until you enter into a written retainer agreement with me, tender the agreed amount for a retainer and it is accepted by me. I reserve the right to decline representation should circumstances change.

As you are aware, in New York there are various deadlines for filing a complaint, filing an answer to a complaint, or taking other action in order to preserve your legal rights, and avoid a complete loss of those rights. You should retain counsel immediately in order to be fully advised of your rights, and to be fully informed of the applicable time period within which those rights must be asserted. If you were to delay in doing so, it might result in your potential cause of action being forever barred.