Bronx Intestate Succession

If you do not make a will before you die, the State of New York will make sure you have one by essentially writing one for you. It is possible that the will designed by the State of New York may be very similar to what you would write. Unfortunately, it is more likely that such a will would not include the same provisions as a will written by you. Under New York law the term for passing away without having a will is called "intestacy." When you write a will you set forth exactly what you would like to happen to your property. You can pick and choose who receives specific pieces of your estate. You can also choose to specifically disinherit certain family members. The only way to be sure that none of your probate property becomes subject to intestacy is to make a last will and testament that is clearly written and properly executed according to the requirements of New York law. To learn more about the benefits of having a will as well as other estate documents, contact an experienced Bronx intestate succession lawyer who is familiar with will drafting and will work closely with you to create an estate plan consistent with your goals.

Under New York’s law of intestate succession, your primary heirs are your spouse and children. If you do not have children, your spouse will automatically get our entire estate. If you also have children, your children and spouse will share in your estate, but your children will get a larger share. If you pass away without a spouse or children, then the law states that your property will go to other blood relatives in a specific order. NY EPTL § 4-1.1

• Survived only by spouse. If you are survived only by a spouse your surviving spouse will inherit 100% of your estate.
• Survived by spouse and children. If you are survived by both a spouse and children, then all will share in your estate. Your spouse will inherit the first $50,000 of your estate, plus 50% of the balance of your estate. Your children will inherit the remaining 50% of your estate.
• Survived by children. If you are survived by children but no spouse, then your children will all share in your estate equally. Your grandchildren (whose parent is your child) will inherit the share that would have been your child's share if that child had not predeceased you.
• Survived by parents. If you are survived by one or both of your parents, but not by a spouse, children or grandchildren, then your parents will share equally in 100% of your estate.
• Survived by siblings. If you are survived by siblings but not by a spouse, children, grandchildren, or parents, then your siblings will share in 100% of your property.
• Survived by grandparents. If you are survived by one or more of your grandparents but not by a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or siblings then your property goes to your grandparents as follows. 50% to your paternal grandparents and 50% to your maternal grandparents.
• Survived by aunts and uncles. In the case where your estate would have gone to your grandparents, if neither of your paternal grandparents survive you, then their share will go to your paternal aunts and uncles. Similarly, if neither of your maternal grandparents survive you, then their share will go to your maternal aunts and uncles.

For purposes of the intestate succession legally adopted children are treated as biological children and are entitled to a share of your estate. Posthumous children, meaning children conceived by you but not born before your death, are entitled to a child's share of your estate. Children born outside of marriage are entitled to share in your estate if you acknowledge them or if paternity was established under New York law. Foster children and stepchildren, on the other hand, are not entitled to share in your estate unless they were legally adopted by you. Similarly, biological children who you placed for adoption and who were legally adopted by another family are not entitled to inherit. NY EPTL § 4-1.1.

As an experienced Bronx intestate succession lawyer, keep in mind that intestacy laws do not allow your property to be inherited by non-relatives. Thus, your best friend would not get anything even if you intended for that person to receive part of your estate. Nor could part of your estate go to an institution such as your college or an organization such as your favorite charitable organization. In order to leave your estate to anyone other than your statutory heirs, you must say so in a duly executed will.

While this rarely happens, if you pass away without leaving a will and without having any heirs then under New York's Abandoned Property laws, your property will end up going to the state of New York by a process called “escheat.” N.Y. ABP. Law § 1215

As an experienced Bronx intestate succession lawyer, another problem presented by intestacy is that you would not have identified a guardian for your minor children. In a will you can state your preference regarding who should raise your children in the event that you pass away leaving minor children and the other parents is not available to take care of them. In such a case the court will make a determination as to whom should be their guardian. While the court is likely to choose a family member, the court may not choose the family member that you would have selected. For example, they may choose a family member who does not know your children well, or who have different child-rearing values from you.

Furthermore, if no family member is willing or able to serve as a guardian your children may be placed in foster care and eventually adopted by other family. In addition, if your children inherit property from you the state will also determine who will be responsible for managing their assets until your children become adults.

The executor of an estate is a person you name in your will to manage your estate and make sure your property is distributed according to your wishes. That person is typically a spouse, adult child, sibling, or some other person who you trust. If you do not have a will the person who is appointed to manage your estate is called an estate administrator. Oftentimes this person is your spouse or your child. In fact under New York estate law, only certain people would be eligible to serve. Nonetheless, the better alternative is for you to name who you want to fill the role.

If you do not have a will not every asset in your estate will be subject to intestate succession. There are several types of assets that pass to your beneficiaries outside of a will. Examples of such property include:

• Revocable living trust. Property that you have transferred to a living trust will go to the beneficiaries of that trust upon your death, according to the terms of the trust. Trusts that your created during your lifetime are not subject to the probate process and the trustee is not required to get the approval of the Surrogate's Court judge to distribute trust assets. The trustee is only required to abide by the terms of the trust document.
• Payable-on-death (POD) accounts. A payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) account is a special type of financial account where you effectively give someone an interest in the account that does not take effect until you pass away. The "payable upon death" designation means that the financial account will transfer to the payee immediately upon your death even if you do not leave a will. However, the payee would have no control over or access to the account prior to your death. POD and TOD accounts can be set up for checking accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, money markets, and certificates of deposit as well as U.S. savings bonds. In contrast, a financial account that does not have a POD or TOD designation will be included in your estate. In the absence of a will it will pass to your heirs via intestate succession.
• Beneficiary Designations. Accounts and assets that include beneficiary designations are not included in your estate that would be subject to probate or intestate succession. Such assets include life insurance policies, pension plans, 401(k) plans, IRA accounts, stock plans and other types of retirement accounts. With such accounts, your beneficiaries will receive the account balance upon your death regardless of whether or not you have a will.
• Joint Tenancy. Property you own with someone else in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship or tenancy by the entirety will go to the other owner when you pass away. Several types of property can be owned jointly with another person including a bank account, investment account, real estate and a business. These assets will pass to the surviving co-owner or to the beneficiary you named, whether or not you have a will this asset will not fall into your estate that is subject to intestate succession rules.

  However, if you own property with another person as tenants in common, upon your death your share of that property will not go to the other owner, but to your beneficiaries or heirs depending on whether or not you had a will.

• Inter-vivos gifts. If you give a gift to someone during your lifetime, the legal term for that gift is an inter-vivos gift. As such, the property has been transferred out of your estate and would not go to your heirs based on the rules of intestate succession.

Simply because you have a trust, accounts with beneficiary designations or other assets that would not be subject to intestate succession does not mean that without a will your estate will not have an intestacy problem. Despite your best efforts, there is almost always property in your estate that in the absence of a last will and testament will be subject to intestacy rules. For example, if you purchased an asset not long before your death and before you had a chance to transfer it to your trust or give it away, if you do not have a will that property will go to your heirs through intestate succession.

The only way to avoid intestacy is to make a valid will. If the Surrogate's Court determines that your will is not valid, then it will not be admitted to probate. The result would be the same as if you had never wrote a will at all: your estate will be subject to the rules of intestate succession. This is why it is critical that an experienced intestate succession attorney in the Bronx helps you create your will.

Your estate plan should include the appropriate documents that will ensure that your property will go to the people or organizations of your choice as quickly as possible once your pass away. To ensure that your estate does not fall into intestacy it is important that your estate documents are properly drafted and executed in consultation with an experienced intestate succession attorney serving the Bronx. The staff at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates has years of experience creating estate documents for clients throughout New York. We will work closely with you to develop an overall estate plan that reflects your individual goals and that will ensure that your estate does not end up going to your legal heirs through intestate succession. Contact us at 800-696-9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: Nassau County, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Suffolk County, and Westchester County.