Many people come to my office within a short time after someone has passed away. They know the person had property, or needed to access their assets to pay for final expenses, or simply to get closure for the family.
However, some people wait to deal with deceased relatives and their assets. Sometimes, the will isn;t submitted to the surrogate for a long time and sometimes the property is not administered for a long time. The problem of late probate proceedings — filed years after a death — is surprisingly common. We often see families delaying probate administration because family members still reside in the real estate belonging to the estate, the probate process begins but administration does not get completed, the family is statisfied with the status quo and no one feels the urgency to resolve anything.
Waiting too long can be a recipe for trouble. Assets that are in the wrong name, taxes that were unpaid, or missing documents can complicate estate administration and cause financial losses for all involved.
The key lesson is this: family members, heirs and devisees need to wrap up administration of the estate of a decedent. It doesn’t have to be completed in a week, or a month, or even a year, but waiting too long brings on its own types of risks.