Hi. My brother just passed away and I want to know what the process is for settling his estate. There was no will. I live in Manhattan. Do I need an attorney? Thank you.
-- Tracy
A.
There is no need to open an estate for your deceased brother unless he owned property, whether real or personal, in his own name. (For example, joint bank accounts and other jointly owned property pass by operation of law and are not considered part of the estate for court administration purposes.) Also, if the value of his property is $20,000 or less, you can apply for voluntary administration of his estate by going to the Surrogate's Court and filling out an affidavit, a much more simplified procedure than a proceeding to appoint an administrator.
The duties of the estate representative are mainly to gather the assets of the estate together, pay the debts, taxes and other obligations of the estate, then distribute the estate to the persons entitled to it, and finally, to close the estate. Depending on the size of the estate, you would be best advised to hire a lawyer familiar with the procedures involved in administering a decedent's estate (unless, as noted above, voluntary administration for estates of $20,000 or less is an option).
