Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Intestate Laws for children over 18

Intestacy (dying without a Will) is governed by statute, and the Statute spells out what are the rights of surviving spouses and children of the decedent. In part, children may be entitled to something (not granschildren unless they are the children of a child who predeceased the decedent). Much of this information can be gotten by calling the Surrogate in which the administration was granted or on the Surrogate's web site. It makes no difference how your father got his assets, but what he had when he died and how his assets were registered. Intestacy only covers assets he owned individually, so if there are joint assets, assets having some designated beneficiary or otherwise covered by any statute, there may be nothing for intestacy or only a minimum that all could go to his spouse. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not to be considered as legal advice or creating an attorney-client relationship. All answers are fact sensitive, so differing facts can produce different responses.