Estate planning and real estate closings for Long Island and New York City families.

They are two different court processes, and which one applies depends on one thing: whether there is a will.

If your loved one left a valid will, the process is called probate. The court reviews the will, confirms it is genuine, and appoints the executor named in it to carry out the instructions.

If there is no will, the process is called administration. The court appoints someone, usually a close family member, to serve as administrator. That person distributes everything according to a formula set by New York law, because there are no written instructions to follow.

Both processes run through the same court and both involve paperwork, deadlines, and notice to family members. Probate generally goes more smoothly, because the wishes are already written down.

Surrogate’s Court is the New York court that handles estates. Every county has one, across Long Island and New York City alike.

It is where a will is filed and approved, where an executor or administrator is officially appointed, and where disputes over an estate get resolved. It is a quieter, more paperwork-driven court than most people picture. In the great majority of estates nobody ends up arguing in front of a judge at all.

The case is filed in the county where your loved one lived, and I handle the filings and the correspondence so the family is not chasing forms.

The estate is distributed under New York’s intestacy rules. Intestacy simply means dying without a valid will, and when that happens the state provides the instructions instead of the person.

The formula is rigid. Depending on who survives, it splits things among a spouse, children, parents, or more distant relatives in a set order. It does not account for a caregiver who gave up years of their life, a promise made at a kitchen table, a stepchild who was never legally adopted, or a family member you were estranged from.

It also means someone has to petition the court to be appointed administrator before anything can be handled at all, which adds time and cost. This is the single strongest argument for getting documents in place while it is easy to do.

Because New York is an attorney state. In many parts of the country a title company or an escrow agent runs the closing. Here, attorneys represent both the buyer and the seller, and the contract of sale itself is drafted and negotiated by counsel.

On the buyer side, I review the contract, examine the title report, handle the lender’s requirements, and sit at the closing table with you. On the seller side, I draft the contract, clear up any title issues, and make sure you walk away with clean proceeds and no loose ends.

If you have bought a house in another state and remember a much lighter process, this is why the experience here is different.

A deed is the document that proves who holds title to a property. Transferring it into a trust means the trust becomes the owner of record, while you keep the benefit of the property under the terms you set up.

Two practical effects. First, property held in a trust generally passes to the people you named without going through Surrogate’s Court, which saves your family time and expense. Second, depending on how the trust is written, it can provide a layer of protection for the asset, including in situations where you or a spouse may later need state assistance.

I want to be careful here. A trust is not a magic shield, the protection depends entirely on the type of trust and on timing rules that matter a great deal. Some transfers need to happen well in advance to do what people hope they will do. That is a conversation worth having early, and I am happy to walk you through what would apply to your situation.

The first conversation costs nothing, whether it happens on the phone, at my office, or at your kitchen table. The estimate that follows costs nothing either.

Bring whatever you have, and do not worry if that is not much. For estate planning, a rough list of what you own and who you would want to receive it is plenty. For an estate matter, any will you have found, and a general sense of the property and accounts involved. For a real estate matter, the contract or listing if you have one.

If you show up with nothing but questions, that is completely fine. Most people do.