Probate Attorney
A probate attorney takes a will through New York's Surrogate's Court so it becomes legally effective and the executor can act. Tap through the five stages below to see exactly what the process looks like, then let us handle the parts that trip families up.
File the Probate Petition
The named executor files the original will and a petition with the Surrogate's Court in the county where the person lived. Suffolk County files in Riverhead, Nassau in Mineola. The petition lists the heirs, the assets, and asks the court to admit the will.
Notify the Distributees
Everyone who would inherit if there were no will, the distributees, must be formally served with a citation and given the chance to object. This notice step is where a straightforward probate slows down, and where a missing or hard-to-find heir can stall everything.
The Court Issues Letters Testamentary
Once the will is admitted and notice is complete, the Surrogate issues Letters Testamentary, the document that gives the executor legal power to act. Until this arrives, no bank, broker, or buyer will deal with the executor. This is the milestone everything waits on.
Settle the Estate
With Letters in hand, the executor collects assets, pays valid debts and taxes in the order New York requires, and prepares to distribute what remains. This is estate administration, the hands-on work that follows a successful probate.
Final Accounting and Closing
The executor accounts to the beneficiaries for every dollar, distributes the shares, and collects releases. Once the court or the beneficiaries approve the accounting, the estate is closed and the executor is discharged.
Probate Is a Court Case. Grief Is the Worst Time to Run One.
Probate is the court process that proves a will is valid and clears the executor to act. On paper it is five steps. In practice it is filings with deadlines, heirs who must be located and served, and a Surrogate's Court that rejects paperwork that is not exactly right, all landing on someone who is also planning a funeral.
For twenty years we have run probate through the Surrogate's Courts in Suffolk and Nassau County, and we know how each one wants its filings and how long each step actually takes. Our job is to keep your case moving so you can step back and be with your family.
Does This Estate Even Need Probate?
A common relief we deliver on the first call: not every estate has to be fully probated. Whether yours does depends on how the assets were held and how large the estate is.
On a first call we can usually tell you which bucket your situation falls into, and whether the shortcut is open to you. If the estate can avoid full probate, we will tell you that too, and often that is the whole answer.
Where a Will Gets Challenged, and How We Hold the Line
A Distributee Objects
An heir served with the citation can file objections, forcing a contested proceeding. Grounds usually claim improper execution, lack of capacity, or undue influence. We represent the estate and the will Shari's client signed.
The Will Cannot Be Found
New York presumes a will the testator kept but nobody can locate was destroyed on purpose, which can throw the estate into intestacy. This is exactly why we securely store clients' original wills, so this fight never starts.
An Heir Is Missing
Probate cannot finish until every distributee is served. A relative nobody can find, or whose whereabouts are unknown, requires a diligent search and sometimes a guardian ad litem. We handle that process so the case does not stall indefinitely.
Where Probate Connects
Estate Administration
Probate confirms the executor; administration is the settling work that follows. We carry the estate straight from one into the other.
Wills and Trusts
The surest way to spare your own family probate is a trust-based plan built now. The best time to avoid this process is before it starts.
Selling the Home
When probate frees a house to be sold, our real estate practice runs the closing, so the whole matter stays under one roof.
Probate FAQ
How long does probate take in New York?
An uncontested probate with cooperative heirs and clean paperwork often runs several months. Add a will contest, a missing heir, estate tax filings, or property that has to be sold, and it can stretch past a year. Getting the petition right the first time is the biggest thing within anyone's control.
Do all estates go through probate?
No. Assets with named beneficiaries, jointly owned property, and anything held in a living trust pass outside probate entirely. Small estates under New York's threshold can use a simplified voluntary administration. Probate is really for assets in the deceased person's name alone.
Can probate be avoided?
For your own estate, yes, with planning: a funded revocable trust, beneficiary designations, and joint ownership can keep most or all of it out of court. For an estate you are already administering, the structure is mostly set, though the small-estate shortcut may still apply.
What if the executor lives out of state?
An out-of-state executor can serve for a New York probate. We handle the New York filings, the Surrogate's Court appearances, and the local coordination, and much of it can be managed without you traveling back and forth.
Can you help if there is a dispute during probate?
Yes. We handle contested probate: objections to the will, questions of capacity or undue influence, and disputes among heirs. We work to resolve them efficiently, and we are prepared to litigate in Surrogate's Court when a matter cannot be settled.
Bring Us the Will and the Questions. We'll Take It From There.
One free consultation tells you whether the estate needs probate, and what the road ahead actually looks like.
Talk to a Probate Attorney
Fill out the form and we will reach out to schedule your free consultation, or call 631-964-4418.