Family & Children’s Inheritance Rights
Probate & Estate Administration (Will) Specific Practice Areas
All Practice Areas
30+ Years of estate, trust and probate Experience
Experienced Long Island Probate and Estate Lawyer
What are My Inheritance Rights as a Child or a Sibling?
If someone dies without a valid will, then the estate is deemed an administration matter and follows the rules governing intestate succession. After the required liabilities and expenses are resolved the fiduciary will then distribute the estate.
Distribution
Distribution shall then be as follows:
a) If a decedent is survived by:
- A spouse and issue, fifty thousand dollars and one-half of the residue to the spouse, and the balance thereof to the issue by representation.
- A spouse and no issue, the whole to the spouse.
- Issue and no spouse, the whole to the issue, by representation.
- One or both parents, and no spouse and no issue, the whole to the surviving parent or parents.
- Issue of parents, and no spouse, issue or parent, the whole to the issue of the parents, by representation.
- One or more grandparents or the issue of grandparents (as hereinafter defined), and no spouse, issue, parent or issue of parents, one-half to the surviving paternal grandparent or grandparents, or if neither of them survives, representation, and the other one-half to the surviving maternal grandparent or grandparents, or if neither of them survives the decedent, to their issue, by representation; provided that if the decedent was not survived by a grandparent or grandparents on one side or by the issue of such grandparents, the whole to the surviving grandparent or grandparents on the other side, or if neither of them survives the decedent, to their issue, by representation, in the same manner as the one-half. For the purposes of this subparagraph, issue of grandparents shall not include issue more remote than grandchildren of such grandparents.
- Great-grandchildren of grandparents, and no spouse, issue, parent, issue of parents, grandparent, children of grandparents or grandchildren of grandparents, one-half to the great-grandchildren of the paternal grandparents, per capita, and the other one-half to the great-grandchildren of the maternal grandparents, per capita; provided that if the decedent was not survived by great-grandchildren of grandparents on one side, the whole to the great-grandchildren of grandparents on the other side, in the same manner as the one-half.
(b) For all purposes of this section, decedent’s relatives of the half blood shall be treated as if they were relatives of the whole blood.
(c) Distributees of the decedent, conceived before his or her death but born alive thereafter, take as if they were born in his or her lifetime.
(d) The right of an adopted child to take a distributive share and the right of succession to the estate of an adopted child continue as provided in the domestic relations law.
(e) A distributive share passing to a surviving spouse under this section is in lieu of any right of dower to which such spouse may be entitled. Per NY State EPTL 4-1 Rules.
Probate & Estate Administration (Will) Specific Practice Areas
All Practice Areas
30+ Years of estate, trust and probate Experience
OVER 30 YEARS FOCUSING ON PROBATE & ESTATE MATTERS
Dealing exclusively with probate and estate administration cases
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DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT PROBATE OR AN ESTATE? We can answer your questions and address your concerns:
- Do you need to protect your inheritance but can’t afford an attorney?
- Do you not have the extra money to pay an attorney’s bill each month, but you need excellent legal counsel now?
- Are you named in the will as the executor but don’t have the funds to hire an estate lawyer?
- Do you want to serve as the administrator for your mom’s estate but don’t know what to do?