New,York,Intestacy,Law,What,Ha law New York Intestacy Law: What Happens to Your Assets if You D

When you work with an attorney, you will have no problem reducing the risks associated with getting your case in front of a judge and jury, or other formal court, when you need to. However, every case is different. It is important to work wi Bankruptcy is a situation, wherein an individual is termed as unable to discharge all the debts. When a person or a company is not able to pay off its creditors, it has an obligation to file a bankruptcy suit. In fact, a bankruptcy suit is a

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0cm;mso-para-margin-right:0cm;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0cm;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}Passing away without a Will is called dying‘intestate’. What happens to your property if you die intestate depends on yourstate’s laws. The implications this can have on your loved ones varies amongeach jurisdiction. This article discusses the impacts of intestacy legislation inthe state of New York.The New York intestacy legislation is setforth in the New York consolidated statute estates, powers & trusts,article 4. The terms of the statute may seem bizarre to some, butunfortunately, many residents aren’t aware of its terms.When does my spouse receive the wholeestate?Under the statute, your spouse onlyreceives the entire estate if you have no surviving issue (children,grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on).What happens if there are survivingdescendants?If there are any lineal descendantsinvolved, your spouse’s share is reduced. For example, if you die leavingbehind two children, then your spouse only receives the first $50,000 plus halfof the balance of your estate. The remainder is divided equally between your children.This is the case, even if your spouse is the parent of all your children.The division of property under this statutecan have a far-reaching impact on the family. How is your spouse going toprovide for minor children if he/she needs to keep part of the property in atrust for them? Will the family home need to be sold to give the children orgrandchildren their share? These are the very real problems which can arisefrom such a situation where one spouse dies without making a NewYork Will.How much dograndchildren receive?Unfairness can also arise wheregrandchildren are involved. The New York intestacy law provides that issueinherit by way of representation. This means that if a child has died, thatchild’s children will inherit their parent’s share equally.This may be confusing, so here’s anexample:Say you are a widowed grandparent. You haveone surviving child and two deceased children (who left behind grandchildren:two grandsons from one and a granddaughter from your other deceased child). Ifyou pass away without writing a New York Will, then your estate is divided intothirds (representing your 3 children). Your surviving child and granddaughtereach receive one third. The two grandsons must share one third (because theytake their parent’s share).This outcome would seem highly unfair tothe two grandsons. Yet this is exactly what would happen if you did not specifyyour wishes in a properly drafted New York Will.What can I do to avoid intestacy?You need to make a valid Last Will andTestament which complies with the New York Will Requirements. Knowing andcomplying with the legal requirements of making a Will in your state iscrucial.This is because your Will must be submittedto the court for approval before any property can be distributed in accordancewith it. If your Will is not accepted by the court, then you are deemed to havedied intestate (unless you made an earlier Will which was not revoked andproves to be valid).Even if your Will appears to comply withthe requirements on the face of it, its validity can be contested by yourrelatives. This is why you should take the formalities very seriously. Youshould also have your Will self proved to add further authentication.Having a Will can save your family fromfinancial complications when you die. It’s not a concern just for the elderly. Youshould make a Will as soon as you reach majority, but research your optionsthoroughly. If you don’t know where to start, Newyorkwill.org provides aninformative resource on wills and estates specifically for the state of NewYork.