If you have been a resident of New York City for a long while now, you should already be fond of the fact that opening a formal probate estate can be a bit too complex and lengthy, especially when there are issues related to the Will of the deceased.
Even most probate attorneys would recommend that you go for an informal probate estate and if you are still wondering why they do so, let us take a quick look at what a formal and informal probate estate is.
What is a formal probate estate?
Once there are no precise and full details concerning the validity of a deceased’s Will, then as a probate lawyer or as an executor of that Will, you’re expected to go through a formal probate estate process.
It is the most appropriate thing to do when the Original Will of the deceased cannot be found or retrieved. The probate process includes filing a petition for a hearing before the probate court so that the Judge can appoint a personal representative, determine the heirs of the deceased and decide if the Will is valid.
What is an informal probate estate?
On the other hand, if you’re to open an informal probate estate, then a probate court hearing or involvement would not be needed at all and it is the most appropriate if there are precise and full details concerning the validity of a deceased’s Will. Even if a Will was not made by the deceased before he or she passed on, you can still open an informal probate estate since the heirs have already been validly identified.
As you can see above, this is why most people residing in New York tend to go after an informal probate estate; it is cheap, doesn’t take much time and can be easily done with or without a Will.
How can you easily open a formal probate estate in New York City?
Now that we already know that opening an informal probate is much easier than opening a formal probate, how can you easily open the latter if you unfortunately don’t get the chance to open an informal probate?
In New York City a probate estate is to be opened if the assets of the deceased are worth $50,000 or more but before you begin to ask questions about if the estate should be opened via a formal probate process, you should take note of the following:
1. Validity of the Will?
Just as it was stated earlier, opening a formal probate estate would be necessary especially if you do not have an idea on how valid the Will is. Before you get will valid, a New York Will must be assigned and there would be a minimum of two witnesses needed to sign.
2. A probate Lawyer:
As for this one, you are advised to not hire any probate attorney you lay your eyes on, an experienced probate attorney who is fond of New York City’s probate process is highly recommend. They would be able to assist you with the probate process from start to finish especially if you do not want to go through the whole stress all by yourself.
3. Paying the probate fees:
After hiring a probate attorney, he or she should help you with filling a probate application either online or through a paper form. A probate fees would then be required to be paid but before you let anyone anyone extort you, here is what you should know about the average probate fees in New York City.
- $45 for an estate worth less than $10,000
- $75 for an estate worth less than $20,000
- $215 for an estate worth less than $50,000
- $280 for an estate worth less than $100,000
Also note that your probate attorney would also need to be paid either via the hourly payment system or via the flat payment system and this is something that would surely vary based on several factors.
Need an estate planning attorney?
If you want to plan your estate, and you need the services of an experienced estate planning attorney, please, don’t hesitate to contact us. Also, if you need help with updating your estate plan, you can contact our office as well. We boast of competent estate planning attorney who can help in creating an estate plan that suits your needs.