Probate & Estate Administration Counsel for Nassau County Executors

Probate refers to the court proceeding in Nassau Surrogate's Court that authenticates the will and issues Letters Testamentary. Estate administration is everything that happens after those letters are granted. We inventory accounts, review creditor claims, prepare tax filings, obtain releases, and distribute assets according to the will or intestacy rules. Probate opens the door. Administration is the work that closes the estate and transfers property to beneficiaries.

For smaller estates, Voluntary Administration may be available instead of a full probate proceeding when the estate has $50,000 or less in personal property and no real property requires administration. The correct path depends on the asset list, ownership records, and whether a will exists.

Whether probate is required depends entirely on how assets were titled at death. A will sitting in a drawer does not trigger probate. Assets do. If real property, brokerage accounts, or bank accounts remain in the decedent's individual name, the estate may need a Surrogate's Court proceeding to transfer legal authority. The will names who receives those assets, but it does not move them. That requires Letters Testamentary when probate is the required path.

Conversely, assets with beneficiary designations, payable-on-death instructions, or joint tenancy with rights of survivorship pass outside probate regardless of what the will says. A Voluntary Administration may be an option for estates with $50,000 or less in personal property, but that limited process does not administer real property.

Families often assume a will eliminates probate. It does not. The will controls distribution during probate, but titling controls whether probate happens at all. We assess each asset's registration to determine the required path and whether court involvement can be avoided through existing designations.

Assets titled solely in the decedent's name without beneficiary designations or transfer mechanisms may require probate or another Surrogate's Court proceeding. Jointly held property, beneficiary accounts, and properly funded trusts typically avoid it, though registration errors often override intent.

Probate captures anything titled in the decedent's individual name at death without an automatic transfer mechanism. Real property deeded solely to the deceased, bank accounts without payable-on-death designations, brokerage accounts held individually, personal property like vehicles or collectibles, and business interests registered to the person alone may require court supervision to retitle.

Whether a bank account enters probate depends entirely on how the account was registered at the time of death. Accounts titled solely in the decedent's name may require administration through Nassau Surrogate's Court. Joint accounts with rights of survivorship typically transfer directly to the surviving account holder. Payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations allow the named beneficiary to claim the funds outside probate.

For an estate with $50,000 or less in personal property and no real property requiring administration, a Voluntary Administration may be available. At Marchese & Maynard, LLP, we review each account's registration and beneficiary forms to determine which assets require court oversight and which pass by operation of the account contract itself.

Not every death requires probate. The determining factor is how assets were titled at the moment of death. If a bank account names a payable-on-death beneficiary, that account transfers directly without court involvement. If real property is held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the surviving owner takes title by operation of law. If a brokerage account lists a transfer-on-death designation, the named party receives the funds outside probate.

For estates with $50,000 or less in personal property and no real property requiring administration, a Voluntary Administration may provide a limited alternative to full probate or administration. Marchese & Maynard, LLP reviews the specific registration of each asset to determine what requires court administration and what does not.

We encounter estates where ninety percent of the value passes outside probate because accounts were registered correctly, and only a single asset requires court filing. We also see estates where every account, deed, and investment requires Nassau Surrogate's Court involvement because nothing was coordinated during life.