A great-aunt passes away in her Brooklyn brownstone. You remember her fondly, but the family has drifted apart. Months go by. You hear nothing—no phone call, no formal letter. A quiet question forms: did she leave you something in her will? The silence from the family is unsettling, leaving you to wonder if you were forgotten or if something else is happening behind the scenes.
This is a situation my firm handles frequently. The loss of a relative is difficult enough without the added stress of uncertainty. Most people assume they will be notified if they are named a beneficiary. That is how the process should work, but it isn’t guaranteed. An executor can be slow, disorganized, or even uncooperative. A beneficiary has rights, however, and the path to discovering an inheritance is more methodical than many realize.
The Executor’s Duty and the Role of Surrogate’s Court
When a person with a will passes away in New York, the document is submitted to the Surrogate’s Court in the county where they lived. The person nominated to manage the estate—the executor—files a petition for probate. This is the formal court process that validates the will and gives the executor the authority to act.
The executor has a fiduciary duty—a legal obligation of the highest order to act in the best interests of the estate and its beneficiaries. That duty includes formally notifying all interested parties. New York’s Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) § 1403 is unambiguous. It lists exactly who must be served with a formal notice, called a “citation,” when a will is offered for probate. This list includes every beneficiary.
This is not a suggestion; it is a legal requirement. The court will not grant the executor authority until it is satisfied that proper notice has been given. This notice gives beneficiaries the opportunity to appear in court, review the will, and, if necessary, raise objections. If you are named in the will, you should receive this formal notice from the court or the executor’s attorney.
When You Hear Nothing: How to Be Proactive
What if months have passed and no citation has arrived? The probate process may not have started. It is also possible it has started without your knowledge. You do not have to wait passively.
The first step is to search the records of the Surrogate’s Court in the county where your relative resided at the time of death. Once a will is filed for probate, it becomes a public record. Anyone can access it. Many county courts in New York have online databases where you can search for estate proceedings by the decedent’s name. If a probate case has been opened, you can find the case number, the name of the executor, and the attorney representing the estate.
If you find a filed will, you can obtain a copy from the court clerk. This is the most direct way to confirm if you are a named beneficiary. If your name is in the will, but you were never served with a citation, the executor has failed to meet a basic legal requirement. An attorney can file the necessary papers for you to appear in the proceeding and assert your rights.
What If There Is No Will?
Many people die without a will—a situation called dying “intestate.” With no will, there are no named beneficiaries to notify. Instead, New York law dictates who inherits the property through rules of intestate succession, outlined in Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) § 4-1.1.
The law provides a clear hierarchy. If the person had a spouse and no children, the spouse inherits everything. If they had a spouse and children, the spouse receives the first $50,000 plus half of the remainder, with the other half going to the children. If there is no spouse or child, the estate passes to the decedent’s parents, then siblings, and so on, down the line of kinship.
If you are a close relative of someone who died without a will, you may be an heir by law even if they never wrote your name down. The process is different—the court appoints an “administrator” instead of an executor—but the need for a formal court proceeding is the same. A search of Surrogate’s Court records will reveal if an administration proceeding has been started.
Looking Beyond the Will: Non-Probate Assets
Not all assets pass through a will and the probate process. Many valuable assets transfer directly to a beneficiary by contract. These are called “non-probate” assets.
These commonly include:
- Retirement Accounts: IRAs, 401(k)s, and other qualified plans have beneficiary designation forms that override a will.
- Life Insurance Policies: The death benefit is paid directly to the person named on the policy’s beneficiary form.
- Payable-on-Death (POD) Bank Accounts: These accounts transfer automatically to the named beneficiary upon the owner’s death.
- Jointly Owned Property: Real estate or bank accounts owned as “joint tenants with rights of survivorship” pass automatically to the surviving owner.
Discovering whether you are the beneficiary of a non-probate asset is more difficult, as these are private contracts, not public court records. The executor or administrator is responsible for inventorying all assets, including these. They then notify the financial institutions, which are obligated to contact the named beneficiaries. If communication with the estate’s representative has broken down, an attorney may need to formally request an accounting of all estate assets.
Determining your status as an heir or beneficiary is a matter of methodical investigation. It requires understanding the court process, knowing where to look for public records, and recognizing when to assert your rights.
If you believe you are a beneficiary of a New York estate but have been kept in the dark, a prudent first step is to authorize a search of the relevant Surrogate’s Court records. My firm can conduct this initial inquiry to determine if a will has been filed and advise on the appropriate next steps to protect your potential inheritance.
