Robert A. Saasto, Esq. |
16 East Old Country Road Hicksville, NY 11801 Tel: 516.822.1600 | Fax: 516.822.6160 |
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Wills/Legal Documents
A will, also called a "last will and testament," can help you protect your family and your property. You can use a will to:
● leave your property to people or organizations
● name a personal guardian to care for your minor children
● name a trusted person to manage property you leave to minor children, and
● name an executor, the person who makes sure that the terms of your will are carried out.
In New York, if you die without a will, your property will be distributed according to state “intestacy” laws. New York’s intestacy law gives your property to your closest relatives, beginning with your spouse and children. If you have neither a spouse nor children, your grandchildren or your parents will get your property. This list continues with increasingly distant relatives, including siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and your spouse’s relatives. If the court exhausts this list to find that you have no living relatives by blood or marriage, the state will take your property.
To finalize your will in New York:
● you must sign your will in front of two witnesses, and
● your witnesses must sign your
will.
No, in New York, you do not need to notarize your will to make it legal.
However, New York allows you to make your will “self-proving” and you’ll need to go to a notary if you want to do that. A self-proving will speeds up probate because the court can accept the will without contacting the witnesses who signed it.
To make your will self-proving you and
your witnesses will go to the notary and sign an affidavit that proves
who you are and that each of you knew you were signing the will.
Yes. In New York, you can use your will to name an executor who will ensure that the provisions in your will are carried out after your death. If you don’t name an executor, the probate court will appoint someone to take on the job of winding up your estate.
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