Before scheduling a consultation in the offices of a Staten Island Surrogate's Court lawyer, you need to consider the specific issue that has led you to search for legal advice.
As any Staten Island Surrogate's Court attorney will tell you, there are many different reasons why you might wind up in front of the Surrogate's Court, and all of these should lead you to believe that you need the support of an experienced and knowledgeable attorney.
The Surrogate's Courts are posted throughout the state of New York in order to manage issues related to incapacity, guardianship, adoption and the closing of an estate of a deceased individual. Since many different roles need to be played by the individual estate executor, it is important for a person appointed in this role as well beneficiaries who may be affected by the outcome of the estate, to realize their rights and responsibilities.
Someone who has been appointed as an estate executor might need to hire a Staten Island Surrogate's Court attorney. Likewise, a beneficiary who believes that the appointed executor has made mistakes and has compromised the financial strength of the estate assets, should schedule a consultation with the Surrogate's Court attorney in Staten Island.
Understanding the typical roles of an executor can give you grounds to decide whether or not the person who has been appointed here has made a mistake and would enable you to file trust and probate litigation. While the probate process may vary in some situations, there are certain key steps that must be taken in most probate proceedings.
These include getting certified copies of the death certificate, retaining a probate attorney for advocacy as a resource during the probate process, pulling together wills and other necessary estate planning documents, gathering documents that indicate ownership of assets, listing all of the assets owned by the estate as well as the debts owed by the estate, filing tax returns and making tax payments, filing for probate, giving notice to creditors and potential beneficiaries, managing investments and property owned by the estate, having all property inside the estate valued and going to probate court.
One of the final and most important aspects for an executor has to do with transferring assets. At the conclusion of the probate process, assets have to be transferred to the new owners.
If you believe that the person appointed to serve in the role as executor in your Staten Island Surrogate's Court case has made mistakes, you must be prepared to bring forward a legal claim against this person and have ample evidence at your side.
This can include requesting that the executor produce an accounting of the estate, and accounting details of all of the different financial actions that have been taken by the executor after he or she was appointed in this important role. This evidence might prove instrumental in asking for them to be removed from the case and arguing that they overstepped their bounds and failed in their fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries.
When you need to prepare for the full process of the Surrogate Court, do your research first to review all the paperwork needed and the typical procedure required. You’ll have a better perspective on the timing required to take action with a legal dispute such as a will challenge or how you need to gather evidence to allege that the executor on the case has done something violating the fiduciary duty he or she has to the beneficiaries standing to receiving something from the estate.