Recent Articles

What are Distributees? Why are they important?

Christopher L. Miller
August 11, 2008 22:08

If you interact with an estate attorney, you may hear the term distributee. In New York, the term distributee has a legal meaning set out in Estates Powers and Trusts Law Section (EPTL) 1-2.5. The statutory definition is “A distributee is a person entitled to take or [...] If you...

Definition - Intestate

Christopher L. Miller
July 20, 2008 03:03

Nope, it’s not a highway.  Intestate (or intestacy) means that a Decedent has died and has not left a Last Will and Testament to be admitted to probate. The New York Estates, Powers, and Trusts Law Section 4-1.1 sets forth those persons who are entitled to the estate of a Decedent who died ...

Definition - Testate

Christopher L. Miller
July 16, 2008 02:57

Testate means that a Decedent has died leaving a Last Will and Testament to be admitted to probate.Testate means that a Decedent has died leaving a Last Will and Testament to be admitted to probate.

Definition - Decedent

Christopher L. Miller
July 14, 2008 02:56

A Decedent is someone who has died.A Decedent is someone who has died.

Definition - Administration

Christopher L. Miller
July 08, 2008 02:51

Administration is a judicial proceeding similar to a probate proceeding.  The major difference is that an Administration is undertaken when the Decedent did not execute a Last Will and Testament.  If there is an estate to administer, an interested party can petition the court to be appointed as A...

Definition - Probate

Christopher L. Miller
July 04, 2008 02:33

Probate is a judicial proceeding by which a testamentary document is proven to be a Last Will and Testament. It is begun in New York by filing a Probate Petition with the Surrogate’s Court. Once it is established to the satisfaction of the Surrogate that there is no issue of testamentary...

Definition - By Representation

Christopher L. Miller
June 22, 2008 21:58

To follow up the definition of per stirpes, our next term is by representation. Again, this term is used to tell us attorneys how the children of a deceased named beneficiary should take their inheritance. Again, a numerical example is the best explanation. Suppose again thatTo follow up the...

Leona Helmsley Estate Settlement

Christopher L. Miller
June 16, 2008 22:09

The Associated Press reports that New York County Surrogate Renee Roth accepted a settlement in the contested Estate of Leona Helmsley. The Last Will had been contested on grounds that Ms. Helmsley was unfit to execute a Will. The Will left 12 million dollars in trust for Ms. Helmsley’s...

Per Stirpes Defined

Christopher L. Miller
May 20, 2008 21:29

If you have a Last Will prepared, you will probably wonder what per stirpes means.  This term simply tells us attorneys how to divide up an interest in your estate in case the person you name as a beneficiary died before you and left surviving children.   The term is best defined by an example.  Sup...

A New Family Member

Christopher L. Miller
May 20, 2008 21:06

It excites me to announce that on April 9, 2008, a new family member, Christopher Thomas, was born.  This is my first child, and he is wonderful.  I apologize for not having much activity on here for the past few months.  I do anticipate ramping up the postings over the next few weeks, months, etc....