no will & probate

[redwing22]

Hi state is New York. Mom passed away December 22nd. What is the time limit on filing probate in New York? If there is a suposedly lost will, does probate have to be filed? My Dad who was Mom's ex husband is entitled to half of her pension, or social security (I don't know which) has yet to file for this benefit. How will that affect him since nothing has been done in New York? Sister claims she can't find Moms will, and does not plan to file probate since she claims Mom did not have much. My Dad says he may have a will of Moms on file before they divorced. Would this hold up? If there is no will, does sister have the right to be playing role of executor?

 

[ALawyer]

My condolences on your loss.

Social Security has no bearing on you. And the pension is something separate from the "missing" Will too.

If there never was a Will the assets would be split between the 2 kids (assuming there are only 2 and no children of predeceased children). If there was a Will, then the beneficiaries named get the assets as specified in the Will.

If you all feel the Will split the property equally among the 2 kids and no one else, it really does not matter much if it is found or not, as you would come out the same either way.

Either kid could file to become adminsitrator if you wanted to. If the estate is small you can use NY's simplified procedure for handling estates and possibly do it yourself. But let's face it, somethings need to be done, and doing what has to be done is often a thankless job. So unless there is something important that you would do that she is not, why are you on her case or is this old sisterly rivalry croppong up again, at a time of stress?

 

[redwing22]

Thanks for the reply ALawyer. No there has never been a sibling rivalry between us, but some things just don't seem quite right. I was told there was a will a couple of years ago and now I'm told one can't be found, or may have never existed. My brother and I are also being told that there is not much left. I find this hard to believe because when mom and dad divorced, everthing was split down the middle, which means mom would have gotten about 70,000-80,000 in November or December of 1999. I just have a hard time believing that much cash money could dissapear in two years time. Mom lived with sister since September of 1998 and did not go anywhere to speak of or make any large purchases. Mom did have a couple of hospital stays during this time, but she was also a retired state worker, so she had excellent health benefits. So thats why I'm a little concerned about the comment of not much being left.