Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

When my sister in law passed away last year, she had her will but it wasn't signed. My children at the time were asked to sign a Waiver of Citation, Renunciation and Consent to Appointment of Administrator. This is to say that her surviving brother will be the executive of her will as she wanted. The will is in surrogate court of New York. Our understanding is that my children have given him authority to be executive of the will, however they retain any rights that were provided to them under the will. Is this correct?


Asked on 7/25/19, 8:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

These facts are totally confused. There is no Will. This sounds like an Administration proceeding and not a Probate (Will) proceeding, They're similar, but not identical. The terms of the Will do not mean anything, it's not a "Will" until the Surrogate says it's a Will: otherwise it's just paper and has no legal significance. Your sister-in-law's estate will pass according to the laws of intestacy (someone who dies without a will). I think the facts here may be somewhat different that states, because you're mixing and matching words from different areas of the law.

Good luck.

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Answered on 8/19/19, 9:27 am


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