Hiring an inheritance lawyer in NYC is essentially the same as hiring an estate or probate attorney. An inheritance is property left over by a decedent which has been directed to a beneficiary. This directive is usually done in a last will and testament, a revocable/irrevocable trust, or by simply naming someone as a beneficiary on the face of the asset (I.e. pension, life insurance).

The inheritance lawyer can play several roles for a client which would include:

• Drafting a will or trust
• Setting up a power of attorney
• Representing a beneficiary or an executor during the probate process.

Per a study reported by Daily Mail, within the USA, 56% of the residents expect to leave an inheritance to their heirs with an estimated average value of $140,000.

How an Inheritance Lawyer Can Help

The questions you should be asking yourself is this:

If I do plan on leaving an inheritance for my heirs, how would I go about doing it?

Should I use a will?

Do I go with a trust?

Do I simply do nothing and hope it all works itself out?

I can answer that last question immediately. Doing nothing is usually never a good idea. Plan out what could happen with your assets at the time of your passing.

Here are two points you should keep in mind –

• If you have children and a wife, your children will get 50% of the estate and your wife will get the other 50%. If you want to be certain that your wife has full control of your assets at the time of your passing, you want to ensure you either set up a trust or get a will in place.
• Suppose you have 5 kids but one of them is estranged. If you do nothing at all, at the time of your passing your estate will be split up 5 ways equally. If you get yourself a will, you can disinherit your estranged child if you wish to do so and the assets of your estate will go to your 4 other children.

Both points demonstrate that if you do absolutely nothing when it comes to your estate plan, you simply won’t get the results you wanted while you were alive as far how your assets would be distributed.

Perhaps you COULD create your own will and trust to disinherit relatives. But you COULD also give yourself a haircut even though you aren’t actually a barber. This is where the inheritance lawyer comes in. They are aware of your respective states estate and probate laws. Additionally, they understand how will ceremonies work.

Keep in mind any legal document can be challenged. That’s why it is crucial to have a lawyer on board who will make sure every step and measure is taken to ensure if a will or trust challenge were to take place, their practices were sound.

Our Other Legal Questions Answered

You may be interested in some of our other guides that deal with inheritances, executorships, and probate such as:

How to deal with an executor who refuses to communicate with the beneficiaries

Could an executor somehow sell the property of an estate with the heirs approving

Everything you need to know when it comes to the New York Power of Attorney

Probate court and the probate system

How to find out if someone has a will

Contact us

We work with beneficiaries, executors, and administrators of an estate.  We can also assist with drafting a will and/or trust for you. If interested, you can call us at (646) 233-0826.

We are available to provide representation in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island along with Long Island. You can also email us with any questions at Kamilla@MishiyevaLaw.com.

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