Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: residency in the home of the deceased

Your sister should technically be paying rent (to the estate) at the fair market value. She will then receive 1/4 of that back when the estate is finally settled. As to how the executor and she work out the amount and how it will be paid or later collected, that is between them and the probate court.

Re: residency in the home of the deceased

I agree with Ray, unless there is something written in the Will covering this. Once the house became part of the estate, unless the Will provided the sister could still reside there until sold, without paying anything, the house would be considered like commercial (rental) property and she would be responsible to pay many of the costs, some personally (like utilities and telephone) and some as rent that she would get a credit for equal to her share of the estate. This should be discussed among the family members, and some decisions made, as everyone is impacted. It would be unfair for the others to get a reduced share if they had to pay all the charges, while a family member is living there. This might be different if the house were unoccupied. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Missing facts could produce a different reply.