Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Will

My family has been listed in a will which was filed in court back in March 2008. There is a substantial amount of money and assets. From my understanding there were safety deposit boxes that needed to be opened which were done in September. The lawyer and executor both keep blowing off phone calls and questions from family members regarding the distribution of the estate. How long does it take to finalize everything? The family is thinking about hiring an attorney to find out why there seems to be a problem with the distribution. One family member acquired a house & its contents. Still to this day the deed has not been filed, but she is paying all the expenses on this house. Is this right? Shouldn't the estate be paying the bills, taxes, etc.?


Asked on 11/26/08, 10:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Will

One of two things appear to be happening. Either the estate is large enough that NY Inheritance Taxes are involved and to clear this additional time will be involved (from the standpoint of when the return has to be filed and when it is processed and a final determination of taxes due is made), or the attorney and Executor are being lax. In this amount of time, at least some interim accounting should have been presented and a status report on the estate issued to the beneficiaries. If the delay continues and no information is being provided, the beneficiaries can petition the Surrogate to compel the accounting be provided and also request a preliminary distribution of assets. I suggest you retain a local attorney familiar with these matters to assist you and get things moving.

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Answered on 11/26/08, 1:01 pm


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