Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
My father past away last month and in his will he left instructions to pay all debts, give a small amount of money to certain relatives and then the rest goes to my mother. There are no debts at all and my mother would like to honor his wishes by sending out the checks now, before she updates her will. Will she need to do any paperwork or filings now, or can she send the checks now and when she sees her attorney show proof of the will being executed as my father wished.
Thank You
2 Answers from Attorneys
When your father dies his assets become an estate. When you probate a will, the Surrogate's Court recognizes the estate and your mom's authority to act on behalf of the estate as the executrix.
If she sends money before the will is probated, she is not acting on behalf of the estate. Therefore, it is suggested that you first probate the will (which should not take a long time), have your mom be declared the executrix of the estate, and then have your mom issue the checks.
Mike.
While I agree with Mike that this is the proper procedure, your mother can "advance" money to the estate and pay these bequests. However, she should write a cover letter explaining what she is doing and that she is doing it to expedite the payments. She may need documents that verify the funds were oaid/received, so Mike's way is bast overall and if documents are needed, get them either way she does it. If she waits to probate the Will, she should technically open a small estate account, so that the checks come from that account, not her personally..
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