Your father passed away six months ago in his home on Long Island. He named your brother as the executor of his will. At first, things moved along, but now your calls go unanswered. You have no idea what is happening with the sale of the house, the investment accounts, or your father’s personal effects. My firm sees this situation far too often: an heir left in the dark, wondering about their rights when an executor goes silent.
The law is clear: an executor’s role is not one of absolute power. It is a position of profound trust and responsibility. Stewardship. A fiduciary of an estate is legally bound to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and to carry out the decedent’s wishes—not their own.
The Executor’s Fiduciary Duty
An executor’s role is defined by fiduciary duty. This is the highest standard of care in our legal system. It means the executor must place the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries above their own. They cannot, for example, sell estate property to themselves for a below-market price or use estate funds for personal expenses.
This duty demands diligent and transparent management. The executor is responsible for:
- Marshaling and inventorying all of the decedent’s assets.
- Paying the estate’s legitimate debts and taxes.
- Communicating with beneficiaries in a timely manner.
- Distributing the remaining assets according to the terms of the will.
When an executor fails in these duties, they are not just creating family tension; they are breaching a legal obligation. As a beneficiary, you have the right to hold them to that standard.
Your Right to Information and an Accounting
Silence is often the first red flag. While administering an estate takes time—often nine months to a year or more in New York—a complete lack of communication is unacceptable. Beneficiaries have a legal right to be kept reasonably informed about the status of the estate.
If your requests for information are ignored, you have the right to demand a formal accounting. An accounting is a detailed financial report of the estate. It lists every asset collected, all income earned, every expense paid, and a proposed plan for final distribution. This is the executor’s report card, and you are entitled to review it.
Often, a formal request for an accounting sent by an attorney is enough to prompt an executor to action. It signals that you are aware of your rights and are prepared to enforce them. The accounting itself can reveal mismanagement, improper payments, or unreasonable delays that require further action.
When an Executor Must Be Removed
What happens if an accounting reveals serious problems, or if the executor refuses to provide one? In these cases, beneficiaries can petition the Surrogate’s Court to have the executor removed.
The law provides a clear path for this significant step. The New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act § 711 outlines several grounds for removing a fiduciary. These include situations where an executor has wasted or improperly applied estate assets, demonstrated dishonesty, or has “improvidently managed or injured the property committed to his charge.”
We once represented siblings whose uncle, the named executor, had lived in their mother’s Manhattan apartment rent-free for over a year after her death, all while failing to pay the building’s maintenance fees from the estate account. He was treating a valuable estate asset as his own. By filing a petition for his removal under SCPA § 711, we had the court replace him with a professional fiduciary who promptly sold the apartment and distributed the proceeds. These protections exist to ensure a decedent’s legacy is honored.
Being a beneficiary does not mean you are a passive observer. You have legal rights, and the Surrogate’s Court provides the mechanisms to enforce them. The process begins with understanding that an executor is accountable not just to the court, but to you.
If you have spent months waiting for information from an executor and are concerned about the administration of a loved one’s estate, your next step is not another frustrating phone call. It is a formal, written demand for an accounting. Our firm can guide you in preparing this document to formally assert your rights as a beneficiary.
