Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: lack of will

If the person called, say New York, his home, a shorthand term for domicile, then New York law governs the disposition of his property, except for real estate outside of New York, at death.

If there is no Will, then in New York the first $50,000 of individually owned property goes to the surviving spouse and the balance is divided 50% to surviving spouse and 50% among the children. Jointly owned property goes to the survivor, pensions and life insurance go to designated beneficiaries, etc.

The law of location governs real estate outside New York.

A Will, whereever signed, is valid in New York if it is executed according to the laws of the jurisdiction where executed or according to the laws of New York.

Re: lack of will

Residence in the United States covers assets in the United States, based upon the law of the State of residence. A foreign Will should be valid in the United States, if it was prepared under laws similar of those of the State of residence. The difficulty may be that if it was not notarized in the foreign country, and a witness to prove the proper legal requirements is not available, it will be considered invalid - thus resulting in an intestate (dying without a Will) situation. The intestate laws of the State of residence will govern the disposition of property located in the State of residency. Usually the husband gets a certain amount of probate assets (assets not jointly registered or with a beneficiary designation) $50,000 in NY, with the spouse and children splitting the balance. This may be different when it comes to real estate comprising the marital residence, which usually just goes to the husband.

Walter

Walter