Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: will

You should retain counsel to protect your rights. She will have to file the will with the County Surrogates Court in order to have it probated and have herself appointed executrix by the court. You can then go and read it.

Good luck.

Re: will

My condolences on your loss and the bad-will that has emerged. It seems it always does. I am sorry.

As a child of the deceased and as a beneficiary, you qualify as an 'interested person' and have a 100% right to see the will. If you do choose to contest some aspect of the will or distribution of property, you will inherit if you are successful. On the other hand, if the will contains a paragraph that dis-inherits anyone who contests and you are not successful, then you will lose your inheritance.

You cannot lose your inheritance for demanding a copy of the will and for contesting the appointment of a person as executor/executrix.

It is likely that if you retain a lawyer who requests a copy of the will, then she will concede the point and give the lawyer a copy.

I would be happy to perform this function for you for no fee.

I would need her name/address and your name/address and permission to accomplish this task.

Re: will

As an heir, you have a right to see the Will. If a copy has not been provided by the Executrix (your sister), you can get a copy (small photocopying fee) from the Surrogate's Office in which the Will was probated. It is not unusual for a Will to provide that the estate goes into a trust (this is usual when large sums of money are involved). The Will would specify whose share(s) go into a trust, what the provisions are of the trust, and who is to act as trustee. As the Executrix, you sister is required to provide you with a full and complete accounting of the estate. Many states have laws that allow a contesting party to be disinherited. However, asserting your rights to an accounting should not be considered a violation of these laws, since you are not contesting the Will, merely asking for that to which you are entitled. I agree that, to be on the safe side, you retain your own attorney to see everything is done properly. Contact me directly if you have any questions.