The
following proceeding covers those decedents who died with over
$20,000.00 in assets. If the decedent died with a Will, the
proceeding is PROBATE. If the decedent died
without a will, the proceeding is an ADMINISTRATION.
PROBATE
For those decedents who died having a Last Will and Testament
(testate), PROBATE is the process in which a Will is "proved
" to the satisfaction of the Court to be the valid Last
Will and Testament of the decedent, the person named in the
Will as Executor is appointed to carry out the wishes of the
decedent and jurisdiction is obtained over all interested parties
who are given an opportunity to oppose the Will prior to its
admission to probate. The proceeding is filed with the
Surrogate's Court in the County where the decedent was domiciled
prior to his/her death. A nursing home is not considered a domicile,
but you would file the proceeding in the County where the decedent
resided prior to entering the nursing home.
DO
NOT REMOVE THE STAPLES FROM THE WILL WHEN MAKING COPIES BEFORE
FILING WITH THE COURT. Removal of staples may provide grounds
for objection to probate. If the staples have been removed and
the document re-stapled, you must provide the Court with a notarized
affidavit stating why they were removed (i.e. for making copies),
where the document has been kept since it was executed and that
you believe that no substitutions/changes have been made since
its execution.
At
minimum, you must file the original Will, death certificate
and probate
petition. If there is more than one distributee, waivers
must be executed by them or a citation must be served upon them.
If there are beneficiaries who receive something under a will,
but who are not distributees, they are sent notice of probate.
Please click on Checklists to review what is required by the
Court for a probate proceeding. FORMS
are available on this website. If you have any questions, please
call the Surrogate's Court in whatever County you will be filing
in.
Please be advised
that you have certain Obligations
and Responsibilities as Fiduciary or Executor under the
will.
|
3rd
JD
