Estate Disputes & Probate Litigation in NY

And yet, estate disputes - from small disagreements that drag on for months to full-blown litigation in Erie County Surrogate's Court - are far more common than most people expect. Estate disputes can happen in families that don’t usually argue. They happen in both wealthy estates and very modest ones. They can happen even when you try to be proactive. And they almost always come at a huge cost, both in legal fees and family relationships.

If you've ever watched a family mercilessly fight over an inheritance and thought "that will never be us" - this post is worth reading anyway. The families who are best protected aren't the ones who assumed it couldn't happen - They're the ones who proactively planned to prevent it!

What Is Probate Litigation?

Probate litigation refers to legal disputes that arise during the administration of an estate - typically in Surrogate's Court here in New York. These disputes can involve a wide range of concerns and arguments including a will’s validity, the conduct of an executor (or fiduciary), the rights of beneficiaries, or how specific estate documents should be interpreted. Probate disputes can arise quickly after someone’s death, or could surface months or years into an an estate that is well-into the various administration matters. We thought we’d go through some of the most common disputes that result in litigation so that we can help you be proactive with your family in avoiding them!

Will Contests

A will contest occurs when an interested party challenges the validity of the will itself. In New York, the most common grounds for contesting a will are lack of testamentary capacity (meaning the person who made the will didn't have the necessary cognitive capacity to do so at the time it was prepared and signed), undue influence (someone manipulated or pressured the decedent into making certain decisions in their estate plan), improper execution (the will wasn't signed or witnessed according to New York's legal requirements), and forgery or fraud (the will wasn’t signed by the decedent or is fake altogether). Will contests can be lengthy, expensive, and hurtful for everyone involved.

Executor Misconduct or Removal Proceedings

Beneficiaries who believe an executor (or fiduciary) is mismanaging the estate, failing to communicate, self-dealing, or otherwise not fulfilling their legal duties can petition Surrogate's Court to have the executor (or fiduciary) removed. This could happen in different scenarios, especially as feelings and relationships change after a person passes. This is more common than people realize, and it can bring the administration of an estate to a grinding halt while the court sorts things out.

Accounting Disputes

Executors and Administrators in New York are required to provide an accounting of all estate financial matters, including information regarding assets received, estate administration expenses, the decedent’s debts, various financial activities within the course of the estate administration, a review of any distributions and potential final distributions and so on. When beneficiaries believe the accounting is inaccurate, incomplete, or that assets or funds have been mismanaged or misappropriated, disputes over the accounting can escalate into formal litigation.

Discovery Proceedings

If there is reason to believe that estate assets have been improperly transferred or concealed by an individual, or that assets were improperly handled by a Power of Attorney during the decedent’s life or other potential scenarios in which assets that may or should have been part of the estate, but are not, a discovery proceeding can be brought to deal with this and potentially, marshal and recover those assets into the estate.

Kinship Proceedings

A kinship proceeding in Surrogate’s Court may be necessary to determine who a decedent’s legal heirs are or where there is potential uncertainly or a need for further information and/or formal proof on next-of-kin relationships. Often this arises in New York when a person passes without a will or the identify or whereabouts of potential next-of-kin (called “distributees”) must be determined. In this kind of proceeding, the court will make a determination on who are the decedent’s next-of-kin and, therefore, legally entitled to inherit from the estate. Various involved parties will provide documentation and, potentially, provide testimony which may be from family members or others who have knowledge of family matters. Documentation may include a family tree, birth certificates, marriage records, death certificates, obituaries, census records, paternity records, adoption records, other family documents and records, genealogical research, and various other forms of documentation, which may go back several generations. If the kinship hearing results in a class which cannot “be closed”, or a determination that next-of-kin have not been proven, the estate may ultimately pass to New York State rather than to any individual. “Closing the class” means that the Court can determine the complete group of people who could inherit. This can be much more difficult to prove than one might think. While there isn’t a specific state statistic on just how much money the state collects in this manner, this number is rolled in with unclaimed property and uncashed checks that totaled over a billion (with a B!) dollars last year. Don’t be a part of this statistic! This is a sobering reminder of why having a valid, up-to-date will is so important, regardless of how simple or complicated your family situation may seem.

Why Do These Disputes Happen?

Probate litigation rarely comes out of nowhere. In most cases, looking back, the seeds of the dispute were planted long before the person passed. Some of the most common contributing factors include:

A will or estate plan that was outdated, ambiguous, or didn't reflect the decedent's actual intentions.
A will not prepared and executed under the supervision of an attorney.
An executor who was nominated and did not have the temperament, organizational ability, or neutrality to do the job.
Family dynamics were not fully considered - blended families, estranged relatives, or second marriages were never properly accounted for in the estate plan.
A sudden or significant change to the estate plan was made late in life, especially when cognitive decline was a concern.
Assets that passed outside the will through beneficiary designations or joint ownership created an unintended or unequal result.
And perhaps most commonly - There was a lack of communication during life about what the estate plan looked like and why.

Longstanding tensions that were barely manageable during a person's lifetime can seem impossible to tolerate once that person is gone. As we discussed in our post The Probate Process Is a Journey - Start off Right: A Guide for Executors and Administrators, the probate process is already a significant undertaking under the best of circumstances. Add a festering conflict to the mix, and what might have been a year-long process can stretch into something far more consuming - and far more expensive.

The Real Cost of Estate Litigation

It's worth being honest about what probate litigation actually costs - because it's not just measured in legal fees, though those can be substantial. It costs time - often significant amounts of it. It can create immeasurable stress at an already difficult moment. It costs family relationships that may never fully recover. And it costs the estate itself, since litigation expenses may be paid from estate assets, directly reducing what beneficiaries ultimately receive.

In some cases, the cost of fighting over an estate can exceed the value of what was being fought over in the first place.

How Thoughtful Estate Planning Can Reduce the Risk

The good news is that most probate litigation is preventable. Not all of it… There will always be circumstances beyond anyone's control. But, the vast majority of disputes we see could have been avoided, or significantly minimized, with a more intentional estate plan. Here's what that looks like in practice:

We create a clearly drafted, properly executed will or trust that leaves little room for interpretation.
We work with an attorney in creating estate planning documents, who will assess a person’s capacity, pay attention to red flags, plan around potential problems, ensure documents are property executed and so on.
An executor is nominated thoughtfully, with the right person's skills and temperament in mind - not just their role in the family.
Trust structures are established that reduce or eliminate the need for probate altogether for key assets, removing the court process from the equation.
Beneficiary designations are reviewed and updated regularly so that assets pass as intended.
And finally - honest conversations during life with both your family members and an estate planning attorney about what the plan is and why those decisions were made.

If You're Already in the Middle of a Dispute

If you are currently experiencing this firsthand - whether as an executor, a beneficiary, or an interested party - the most important step is to get experienced legal guidance as quickly as possible. Erie County Surrogate's Court proceedings have specific requirements, deadlines, and procedures that matter enormously. Acting without counsel, or waiting too long to act, can have real consequences for your position. And, properly preparing with your estate planning is imperative! For estate planning needs, you can always schedule a quick, free, 10 minute conversation with us!

Plan Now So Your Family Doesn't Fight Later

The most meaningful thing you can do for the people you love is to leave them a plan that is clear, current, and built with their reality in mind. Estate litigation is hard on families… often in ways that last long after the legal proceedings are over. The goal of everything we do is to help you avoid that outcome entirely.

To learn more about the probate process in New York and how our firm can help, visit our Probate & Estate Administration page or reach out to Schedule a Consultation. We're here to help you build an estate plan that keeps your family together.

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