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How to begin a probate

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Felicia Pulliam

Guest
My uncle died 1/3/01. I live in Florida and he lived in New York. My grandparents left 3 pieces of property to their heirs (heirs being my father,1 aunt and 5 uncles now all deceased) This uncle was the last of my grandparents children. Therefore, the property now goes to myself, my sister, my brother and my 3 cousins (I have a copy of my grandparent's will). The problem is nobody knows what to do. I have checked with the Orange County Surrogate court and no will has been filed yet. I contacted some lawyers when I was in New York at the funeral but, thus far (as of 1/19/01)no will has been located. What is the next step, can one of us take it upon themselves to go to a lawyer and get things going or does the court do that? My 3 cousins live in the same town as the property but, none of them
wants to do anything. Also, can any debits made against this property come back on me? The other thing I checked while in New York was that there are no leins or taxes owed on this property at this time. Also, how long does it usually take for a will to be filed after a person dies? My uncle told my mother he had a will made by a lawyer about 3 years ago.
 


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advisor10

Guest
01-23-2001

(1) DID YOUR UNCLE HAVE ANY CLOSE RELATIVES THAT ARE STILL LIVING (WIFE OR CHILDREN)?

(2) DO THEY LIVE IN THE SAME CITY AS HE DID?

(3) HAS SOMEONE FROM THE FAMILY GONE THROUGH HIS PERSONAL EFFECTS AT THE HOME? WHO HAS ACCESS TO HIS HOUSE?

(4) DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHERE HE DID HIS BANKING (WHERE CHECKING/SAVINGS ACCOUNTS ARE AND SAFE DEPOSIT BOX MIGHT BE) OR CHECKED AT HIS PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT FOR INSURANCE BENEFITS?

(5) WHEN YOUR UNCLE TALKED TO YOUR MOTHER ABOUT THE WILL 3 YEARS AGO, DID HE HAPPEN TO MENTION WHERE HE PUT IT OR THE NAME OF THE ATTORNEY WHO COMPOSED IT?

An attorney OR one person in the family should take charge by serving as temporary executor until an official executor can be named. Start taking care of business. You will be required to place a small classified ad in the local legal or daily newspaper that serves the purpose of notifying creditors about the uncle's death so that they can submit any outstanding bills.

The probate/estate attorneys read these ads and then check their office files to see if they have the person's will. It usually takes about 30 days or less (sometimes longer) for the will to be filed. If a will is NOT found, then the process is called "INTESTATE", and then his assets will be distributed according to predetermined NY state law.

Yes, YOU CAN retain a New York lawyer, but before you do this, decide if there are enough assets in his estate (cash, house or land, insurance policies, stocks, etc.) that would cover attorney fees and debts and funeral expenses.

It would also be helpful if ou could stay in contact with one of the cousins or some other friend in New York, because if you need someone to do a favor or run some errands to get documents, etc, it will be cheaper to have the friend do it rather then being billed a fee for it by the attorney.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 
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Felicia Pulliam

Guest
Felicia Pulliam said:
My uncle died 1/3/01. I live in Florida and he lived in New York. My grandparents left 3 pieces of property to their heirs (heirs being my father,1 aunt and 5 uncles now all deceased) This uncle was the last of my grandparents children. Therefore, the property now goes to myself, my sister, my brother and my 3 cousins (I have a copy of my grandparent's will). The problem is nobody knows what to do. I have checked with the Orange County Surrogate court and no will has been filed yet. I contacted some lawyers when I was in New York at the funeral but, thus far (as of 1/19/01)no will has been located. What is the next step, can one of us take it upon themselves to go to a lawyer and get things going or does the court do that? My 3 cousins live in the same town as the property but, none of them
wants to do anything. Also, can any debits made against this property come back on me? The other thing I checked while in New York was that there are no leins or taxes owed on this property at this time. Also, how long does it usually take for a will to be filed after a person dies? My uncle told my mother he had a will made by a lawyer about 3 years ago.
 
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Felicia Pulliam

Guest
In response to your questions, my uncle never married and had no children. He had a longtime (about 10 years) campanion. When we arrived in New York, it was thought she just left when my uncle became sick, but, when we went to my uncle's house, I found her dead in the house. She evidently died before he did. Because of this the police would not allow any access to the home. At this time the women's belongings are also in the house making access unavailable until my uncle and/or this women's will are located. The police have boarded up the windows to secure the house. My cousin was allowed limited access with police escort to look for a will, but none was found.
 
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advisor10

Guest
(01-24-2001)

Thank you for your more detailed response in what looks to be a somewhat complicated situation.

If there is any way possible that access can be made into the house again, someone really does need to look through his personal papers/documents. There ought to be SOMETHING there (such as a checkbook or other papers) that might reveal where he did his banking. If nothing can be found that way, you may need to consider hiring a private detective to do a background check that will reveal more information about his assets (you will need to know his date of birth and Social Security Number). That expense can be submitted as a bill for the estate to pay.

[email protected]
 
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Felicia Pulliam

Guest
In your last reply you mentioned placing an ad in the local paper. Does this need to be a legal ad or just a classified ad asking for a lawyer to come forward if they have a will? Or any debitor to ome forward if they have interest in the estate?
 
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advisor10

Guest
(01-26-2001)


Actually, it is probably permissible for the ad to be placed in either a legal or regular daily newspaper, but IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO PUT IT IN THE LEGAL PAPER, since that is the main publication that would be watched by any lawyers who might possibly have the will. The only catch is that usually this notice only informs the readers about notice of a scheduled probate hearing to review the will, which in this case hasn't been found yet.

I'm sorry that I don't know the name of that particular legal newspaper for the New York City area (or whatever area it was for the city where your uncle died), but any New York attorney should be able to tell you, or someone at the courthouse.

In your case, it might also be wise to place an ad in the local daily newspaper, asking if any knows the location of the will to come forward and contact you and/or your attorney.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

 

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