Spring Valley, NY Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area.  Without a will, when the last of the parents die, the siblings inherit equally. Grandchildren do not inherit when their parent is living who would inherit. If the siblings do not agree on who will represent the estate or upon the split of specific assets, the court could decide who represents the estate and the split, which could also include a sale of specific property wherein the proceeds would be split among the siblings. Each party would be responsible for their own legal fees or could challenge legal fees being deducted from the assets of the estate if the personal administrator deducts fees from the estate, or attempt to claim legal fees should be paid from the estate due to them benefiting the estate. Separately, when the first parent dies without a will, the children could have a right to inherit at that point also. See section 4-1.1 of the Estate Powers and Trust law. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you.

Nevada law has clear requirements to create a valid will. Obviously, one of these requirements is that the will must be signed by the testator. If you believe that the 2010 will was not signed by the deceased (that it is a fraudulent will), you must follow specific procedures to contest the validity of the will. There are specific timeframes to do so and failing to follow these timeframes could bar you from contesting the will at a later date even if it is a fraudulent will. If the 2010 will is not signed at all by anyone, then it obviously would not be accepted as a valid will by any court. Because these issues are very dependent on the facts of each case, a competent probate attorney would be able to advise you about your rights and ensure that the proper will is recognized by the court.

The Will should be redone with the name of the conservator changed and it should be signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign the new will in the presence of you and the other witness. The execution of the new Will should be done in the same manner as the old, revoked, Will. After the new Will is fully executed the old Will should be destroyed. That is the best practice. It is possible, but more perilous, to change the existing Will by modifying it on its face. If this is done the modification must be done in the presence of two witnesses, you must sign the Will indicating you made the modification in the presence of the witnesses and the witnesses must indicate that they witnessed you make the modification, and signed the will in their presence and they signed the Will in your presence and the presence of the other witnesses. If the modification is not done properly it is ineffective and it could be interpreted to mean the entire Will was revoked. It is much better to merely retype the Will with the one change and arrange to sign the Will in the presence of witnesses and revoke the prior Will.