Probate Attorney Serving Glen Oaks, NY

Glen Oaks is a unique neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens that is nestled in between New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Little Neck, and Bellerose. This neighborhood has come together since the early 1900s when the initial grounds of Glen Oak was used as a family farm. In the early 1920s, this site was included in a 165-acre sale to the organizers of the Glen Oaks Club in order to develop a local golf course. By the 1940s, a 3800-family complex named the Glen Oaks Village was constructed on the western border of the Club to accommodate increased interest in the area and golf course.

Today, the Glen Oaks neighborhood is an ethnically diverse community with a population of roughly 6,500 people. The neighborhood features medium-sized homes, mostly occupied by married couples without children and an average household income of $105,075. The community offers neighborhood restaurants, coffee shops, parks, social and recreational activities, and shopping centers. Residents of this community are able to enjoy a safe, quiet urban/suburban neighborhood that is conveniently located and only a short commute to other boroughs.

Residents of Glen Oaks also enjoy affordability and access to different ownership options within the neighborhood. Glen Oaks is a small community where individuals and families tend to settle long-term; and with some of the highest rated schools in the entire city, it is clear to see why this neighborhood is so continuously sought after.

What does probate and estate administration mean?

When an individual dies with assets in his or her own name, a surviving family member is often tasked with initiating the court process to obtain legal permission to administer the estate which includes identifying and gathering the deceased individual’s assets, and determining debts and liabilities, in order to settle and close the estate. The New York’s Surrogate’s Court process depends on whether the individual died with or without a will. Probate would be initiated for individuals that died having prepared a Last Will and Testament during their lifetimes, while administration is initiated for those that died without having a Last Will and Testament prepared during lifetime. Both processes, however, lead to the same goal: settlement of the estate. The process could have a very similar result with or without a will, but the person appointed to manage the estate and the people who will be entitled to distribution of the estate can greatly differ between the two type of proceedings. If there was a valid will and there is a probate proceeding, an executor who the deceased person chose should be appointed and the assets of the estate would be distributed according to the individual’s wishes. If there was no will then settlement of the estate would be through an administration proceeding, the court will appoint an individual to serve as administrator over the estate, who may or may not be the same person the deceased person would have preferred, and the assets of the estate would be distributed in accordance with state law, again not necessarily to the people the deceased person would have chosen.

Glen Oaks residents often ask:

My loved one had more than one home in more than one state, what is their domiciliary status?

Every state has different laws that determine how an individual’s estate will be administered following their death. The state that generally controls how the individual’s estate will be handled is the state where that individual resided. However, determining an individual’s home state, or domiciliary status, is not always so cut and dry. This is especially true when the individual had more than one home, property, or moved about regularly. In cases like this, it is best to consult with an experienced probate and estate administration attorney to determine where your petition should be filed.

A person can have multiple residences, but can only have one domicile. Generally speaking, that means that your primary residence is the domicile and if the primary residence is located in New York, then the individual is a New York domiciliary. There are various factors that can affect domiciliary status, including the amount of time spent in another state. Determining an individual’s domiciliary status is crucial to determining whether New York has jurisdiction over the estate.

What happens if someone contests the will during the probate process? 

Just because an individual died with a will does not mean that the will is automatically accepted as valid, and that the court would admit the will as acceptable. This may happen if the will has not been executed with all statutory requirements or if someone contests the circumstances surrounding execution of the will. If the validity of the will is brought into question, the court would determine the will’s validity.

Only individuals who have a pecuniary interest in the will are allowed to contest the will, which means that only distributees and beneficiaries are able to bring forth an objection to the validity of the will by contesting it. Once an objection against the will is made, the objector must show that the will is invalid, which claim could be based on undue execution, incapacitation, fraud, undue execution, or undue influence. The court will then decide on the validity of the will. If it is determined that the will is not valid, then the estate may result in distribution according to the state laws and not in accordance with what the deceased person would have desired. Therefore, it is very important to have a will prepared and execution supervised by an experienced estate planning attorney to ensure that the will is properly prepared and executed.

To schedule your consultation, contact our experienced Probate and Estate Administration Attorneys today.

After a loved one passes, there are many questions that you will need answers to in order to successfully settle your loved one’s estate, and finding these answers may be the last thing that you or your family wants to worry about. Contact our attorneys at Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz, PLLC to discuss how we can help you navigate this difficult time.