Shady Executrix and Lawyer

My unmarried and now deceased Uncle named me in his Will as a beneficiary of his estate. His will states that I am to receive 25% of his cash assets, and 100% of his 20% share of an apartment building in N.Y.C.

My Uncle named his sister as the executrix. My Aunt's daughter, grandson and grandaughter are the other beneficiaries of his will, each receiving 25% of his cash assets.

My Uncle passed away in October of last year. I have not received a copy of the will. I was allowed to read it briefly, under great scrutiny of my Aunt's watchful eye and have been essentially kept in the dark about the entire matter.

I've been told that my Uncle had a certain amount of money in his various saving accounts, which I have calculated to be well below the amount he should have considering his life style, yearly estimated income and expenses.

Additionally, no mention has been made of IRA accounts, CDs or Stocks. My uncle was an intelligent man, I know he had stocks and it seems highly unlikely that all of his money was in a bank account earning 2% interest.


Furthermore, the lawyer seems to be a bit of a shyster and has in the past been responsible for another family members will. The aformentioned Aunt was also the executrix. My Mother and I, both beneficaries never saw a will or a final tally of assets for the deseased.

Is the lawyer bound by New York State law to contact the beneficiaries, to supply a copy of the will, and to list assets in detail?

Please outline my course of action. Should I seek legal representation with a lawer in my home state or should I get a lawyer in New York? How get information regarding net worth? And finally, what the heck do I do with my selfish aunt?

Thanks,
Very confused, and dissapointed!

Not an attorney but going through same thing in PA. All wills have to be probated and filed in the courthouse in the county of the deceased. You'll need to contact the county court house that your uncle lived in. They will have the will on file and you can obtain a copy of it through the court house. Also in PA the executor must notify all benificaries. Prior to closing the estate all beneficiaries are suppose to sign off on the accounting of the estate. See if you can find an attorney or a web site that tells you the responsibilities of the executor for NY. You can also check for NY statues regarding wills, estates, and probabte.
GOOD LUCK

02-07-2001


DEAR UNCLEPHIL:

Congratulations on being named as a beneficiary.

I get the impression that you may be interpreting the term "cash assets" in a different way than your aunt and her lawyer may be interpreting it.

You really do need to ask for a copy of the will to see if the term cash assets is defined or if the specific cash assets are listed, or if the concept is open to interpretation (perhaps if the will was written in vague language). If the will hasn't been filed yet at the county courthouse, then all you can do is wait a few months until the estate is closed (and the checks distributed to beneficiaries) to look at the estate paperwork and financial documents that will be filed along with the will, that anyone can look at.

You may be assuming the cash assets include checking/savings accounts, plus IRA accounts, cd's, stocks and bonds, etc., but they might be interpreting it as bank accounts only. Of course, I really can't speak for them or what they might actually think.

You also need to look at the probate file of the other family member who died to see how this aunt handled the other family members affairs. You were not required to be notified about the final tally, but if you were beneficiaries, you should have been notified about what you were entitled to receive unless there were no assets to be distributed after the bills were paid. If you weren't notified, then you really do need to look into that to see what corrective steps can be taken. Find out if that county requires executors to be bonded, because a beneficiary can recover their monies from the insurance company if the executor has misappropriated it.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

The IRA, 401k, etc. may have separate beneficiary designations. The bank accounts may be in joint name, or in a Totten Trust / POD form.

The Will should be on file in the Surrogate's Court in the county where he lived. If not, or if you have a worry, get a lawyer in NY to handle oversight of this for you to protect YOUR interests.