Estate Administration FAQs

While the Will reading has made for many dramatic moments in movies and television throughout the years, this is not required in New York State.

A person or entity must having standing, or a financial interest in the outcome, to be able to contest a Will. For example, a child disinherited by a parent should have standing the challenge the parent’s Will. Even if someone has standing to contest the Will, the person must prove to the Surrogate’s Court that the Will was invalid in order to change the distribution provisions or prevent the appointment of the Executor.

New York State law requires that certain family members (called “distributees”), beneficiaries and fiduciaries named in the Will receive notification of a probate proceeding, so that they have an opportunity to appear in the Surrogate’s Court and present any objections to the Will or the appointment of the Executor.

The probate estate includes any assets owned individually by the decedent at death that do not name a beneficiary, such as bank accounts, taxable investment accounts, real estate, personal property such as cars and jewelry. Assets such as retirement plans (401(k), IRA, 403(b)), life insurance and annuities often pass directly to beneficiaries designated by the decedent. In some cases, if no beneficiary is named, these assets may be included in the probate estate. Other assets may be jointly owned, in which case the asset will pass automatically to the surviving joint owner. Transfer on death designations allow a decedent to direct that an asset pass outside of the probate estate, directly to named beneficiary(ies).

New York State law allows Executors to receive payment in the form of a commission, which is determined as a percentage of the decedent’s probate estate. The commission rate ranges between 5% and 2%, decreasing as the size of the probate estate increases.

In addition to collecting assets and paying debts of the decedent, an Executor may need to file an estate tax return for the estate, file a final personal income tax return for the decedent and a fiduciary income tax return for income received by the estate. Prior to closing the estate and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries, an Executor may need to prepare an accounting detailing the assets collected, expenses paid and proposed distribution to each beneficiary.

Once an Executor is appointed, the Executor can begin to collect the decedent’s assets, open up accounts in the name of the estate, sell assets such as real estate and marketable securities to provide the estate with liquid funds, and pay expenses, and settle any of the decedent’s debts.

Although a person may be named in a Will as an Executor, that proposed Executor does not have the authority to administer the decedent’s estate until they are officially appointed by the Surrogate’s Court after probate of the Will. This appointment is called granting “Letters Testamentary” to the Executor. Those Letters Testamentary are proof to financial institutions and others that the Executor has the Surrogate’s Court approval to act on behalf of the estate.

Probate is a court proceeding where a decedent’s Will is presented to a judge to prove its validity and authorize the appointment of Executors, Trustees and Guardians named in a decedent’s Will. In New York State, the Surrogate’s Court oversees probate matters in each county.

Estate administration is the process of collecting and transferring assets from a decedent to the decedent’s beneficiaries. The process may involve a probate proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court to appoint Executors, Trustees and Guardians named in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, working with beneficiaries to transfer and retitle non-probate assets, such as retirement plans, annuities and life insurance, and preparing and filing federal and state estate tax returns, along with the decedent’s final income tax return and fiduciary income tax returns for the estate.