Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Statute Of LImitations On Wills

You need to find out if an estate was opened in the county of her residence at death. If not you will probably need a lawyer to petition the court to force your sister to open the estate or ask the court to appoint an administrator.

Re: Statute Of LImitations On Wills

6 years is a long time for nothing to have taken place. First, you should call the Surrogate's Court in the County where your mother resided at her death to see if any probate proceeding was initiated. If the Will was submitted, you can get a copy, even if you were not mentioned. Depending upon what you find, you may have to proceed differently. If no Will was probated, you can seek appointment as Administrator, which will also require notice to your sister. Then, there is the possibility you may have to sue your sister for an accounting of the estate. One thing to check, is how your mother's assets were registered at the time of her death, individually or jointly. If individually, some probate proceeding would have been required. If jointly, no probate would be required, as the joint registration would control disposition of the assets. This may lead to more questions, such as why you were not included in the joint registrations. There could be a claim for undue influence, which has limitations on the time it could be raised, which may make the 6 years that passed work against you. Much more information is necessary to give you a better response that that set forth herein.