The Charities Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office (OAG) presents this guidance to assist fiduciaries of estates and trusts with charitable interests, and their advisors, seeking the OAG’s review and approval of informal accountings required pursuant to Estates, Powers and Trusts Law ( EPTL) § 8-1.4(d) and (g) and 13 NYCRR § 92.1 et seq.
In trust and estate matters, including fiduciary accountings, the OAG represents the beneficiaries of dispositions for religious, charitable, educational or benevolent purposes. EPTL § 8-1.1(f). In discharging this responsibility, the OAG does not act as the attorney for any named charitable organization; rather, it represents the interests of those members of the public who benefit from the activities conducted by those charities, sometimes called the “ultimate charitable beneficiaries.” The named charities are entitled to separate representation by counsel of their choosing. This distinction is important in the context of fiduciary accountings, because the OAG is not authorized to approve an accounting on behalf of any named charity. Likewise, the approval of an accounting by any or all named charities is not a substitute for review by the OAG.
Probate is the process of proving that the Will is valid. During probate, the Will is proved to the satisfaction of the court that it's the Last Will and Testament of the person who died. Once the Surrogate (the Judge in Surrogate's Court) is convinced of the validity of the Will, the Executor named in the Will is appointed to distribute ...
Distributees must be served with a notice, formally called a citation. The citation gives the Surrogate's Court jurisdiction over them. This means that the Surrogate's Court has the authority to determine the rights of the people involved.
If the Decedent died without a Will, then an administration proceeding should be file.
The point of the notice of probate is to alert interested parties that a will has been offered to probate and give those interested parties a chance to object to the probate of the will.
You might be an heir, a creditor, or someone else with an interest in the estate. Probate is a legal process that begins with a petition to the Surrogate’s Court. The probate process is all about determining who the heirs of the testator are, paying creditors, and distributing assets to beneficiaries. When an executor offers a will ...
Probate is the process during which the will of a decedent is proved, allowing the process of the administration of the decedent’s estate by the executor to move forward. While the activities involved in probate administration are performed by the executor named the will, ...
Letters is a type of court order that grants the executor authority to wind up a decedent’s affairs and perform transactions on behalf of the estate such as opening a bank account and selling estate property.
Pay estate debts. In addition to ensuring that a decedent’s assets are transferred to the appropriate beneficiaries, the Surrogate’s Court is also concerned about ensuring that the decedent’s creditors are paid. In fact, creditors must be paid before beneficiaries receive their distributions.
When notice is required to be given to the State of California or the Attorney General on probate matters, the notice shall be mailed to the Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento:
of proposed action to the Attorney General if any portion of the estate is to escheat to the state and its interest in the estate would be affected by the proposed action.
The Attorney General must be given notice of an action to enjoin, correct, obtain damages for or to otherwise remedy a breach of a charitable trust brought under Corporations Code § 5142, or § 7142.
Notice of a hearing with a copy of the petition must be provided to the Attorney General if the petition relates to a charitable trust subject to the jurisdiction of the Attorney General .
The Attorney General is entitled to notice of a petition to approve an account when any portion of the estate is to escheat to the state and its interest would be affected by the account.
Every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, or trustee holding assets subject to a charitable trust must register with the Attorney General within 30 days of the initial receipt of assets. A trustee is not required to register as long as the charitable interest in a trust is a future interest, but shall do so within 30 days after any charitable interest in a trust becomes a present interest. Additional information and registration forms can be found at the Attorney General’s