Dying without a will may result in your estate going to someone you didn’t intend to receive it, unnecessary estate taxes, delays in settling the estate, added estate expenses and leaving your estate assets without proper management and protection. If you die without a will, New York State law makes the decision as to the […]
You should review your will with your attorney every few years or when there is: A birth or adoption A change of residence The executor, guardian or trustee named in your will become unavailable You or your beneficiaries’ financial worth increases dramatically A change in your marital status or that of a family member A […]
Yes, you can disinherit your children but you cannot disinherit your spouse. Your spouse has a right to the greater of $50,000 or one-third of the value of your estate.
No. If you and your spouse bought your home together, she automatically gets ownership of it upon your death. But what if you both die together? The home that you worked so hard for might be sold and the proceeds controlled by a stranger until your children reach the age of eighteen (18), at which […]
Any party to the proceeding, before or after filing objections to the probate of the will, may examine any or all of the attesting witnesses, the person who prepared the will, and if the will contains a provision designed to prevent a disposition or distribution from taking effect in case the will, or any part […]
A joint will, also known as a mutual will, is a single will signed by both spouses which continues to be a valid document, controlling on the surviving spouse after the other spouse dies. Joint wills are authorized by New York state law. The joint will contains instructions which both spouses declare to be their […]
Duress is that which prevents the intent of the testator from being exercised by the use of force or the threat of harm. It does not depend upon the motive of the wrongdoer, but rather upon the subjective fears of the testator, and is often proven by the doing of a wrongful act of violence […]
At a minimum, the objectant must make a showing of actual acts of undue influence, including time and place of the occurrence. An objectant seeking to prove undue influence must prove three elements: motive, opportunity and actual acts of undue influence. It must be shown that the influence exercised amounted to a moral coercion, which […]
The capacity requirement to execute a will is a minimal standard, it is lower than the requirement for other legal documents: less capacity is required to enable one to make a will than to make other contracts. Capacity is evaluated by three factors: whether decedent understood the nature and consequences of executing a will, whether […]