Westchester Surrogate's Court Lawyer

A Westchester Surrogate's Court lawyer is a person who will be familiar with all of the paperwork required and individual action steps necessary to move through the Westchester Surrogate's Court.

All of the documents involved in closing out a person’s estate should be relatively clear, but when this does not happen, the court must review any challenges to the estate in order to help all impacted beneficiaries or stakeholders.

Wills, trusts and other documents used for the purposes of estate planning by a now deceased individual should clearly indicate the deceased's intent.

However, it is far more common that probate and estate litigation emerges, which puts stakeholders in the difficult position of having to defend themselves or even argue that the person appointed as estate executor has made mistakes. In some cases, beneficiaries may argue that the intent of an estate planning document is unclear, fraudulent or the result of undue influence from an outside party who came in and encouraged the decedent to alter the will.

Furthermore, another reason to contact a Westchester Surrogate's Court attorney is because beneficiaries allege that the trustee or executor has breached his or her fiduciary duties in some capacity. Fiduciary duties mean that the trustee or the executor of an estate has a legal responsibility to do what is best on behalf of the beneficiary.

When it can be shown that the executor or trustee instead engaged in a fraudulent activity or transferred money for their own interests, this can lead to estate and trust litigation. The complicated factors surrounding estate and trust litigation mean that you might need to file a case ending up in Westchester Surrogate Court.

A Surrogate's Court attorney in Westchester in a powerful person to guide you through this process and help make sure that you don't make any mistakes. When there are any disputes about the intent of a will, trust or other document for estate planning purposes, estate litigation may be the only way to resolve these issues. If you believe that you being omitted from a family member's will was the result of undue influence or duress, you need to discuss your legal options directly with an attorney.

If it can be shown that the will was not executed with the decedent's free will, remedies may be available in the Westchester Surrogate Court. If a family member has recently passed away and the time has come to probate a will that seems problematic or contested, an experienced Westchester Surrogate's Court lawyer can help. If the estate has been improperly handled, a judicial accounting can be requested by your attorney to remove a fiduciary who is abusing or misusing the powers of office. You may need support for a variety of different reasons in estate and trust litigation, including contested guardianships in which there are challenges regarding the appropriateness of a guardian's actions, claims against fiduciaries who are accused of fraud, theft or misappropriation of assets, or will and trust disputes involving business ownership, blended families and second marriages. All of these complicated issues clarify just how important it is to retain an attorney who will work hard on your behalf.

Don’t proceed to the Surrogate Court if you don’t have an attorney at your side. Whether you’re an executor who has to represent your own interests when a beneficiary has asked for an accounting or if you are bringing a will challenge, an attorney makes a world of difference in keeping you organized and prepared for the whole process so that there are no unexpected turns in the case.