Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: trust

The only disagreement I have with Norman's response is asking for a judicial, as opposed to an informal accounting. Judicial accountings are much more detailed and usually require that all items of income and expense be individually listed, which can be quite time consuming and expensive to complete, whereas an informal accounting allows categories (like utilities) to be aggregated, rather than each individual payment to be listed by payee and check number. Since no federal or state inheritance tax is involved, 4-6 months is usually all that is needed in a non-complicated estate.

Re: trust

If the estate consists of readily salable assets (bank accounts, marketable securities, etc.) then the procedure should not take too long. If, on the other hand, there are assets that take time to be converted into cash, there might be reasons for a delay. You are always entitled to apply to the Surrogate for an order to prepare a judicial accounting.