Administering Real Property in a Decedent’s Estate in New York

The passing of title to real property and cooperative shares in New York by a decedent to a beneficiary requires a careful analysis by the attorney advising executors, administrators, trustees, and beneficiaries. Title to real property, and shares in a cooperative corporation, can pass in a multitude of ways. Depending on how property is titled, the right of a fiduciary to administer real property can range from extremely broad (passing to the residuary estate in a will), to limited (a specific devise in a will of real property that needs to be sold to pay estate debts), to non-existent (property titled as joint tenants with rights of survivorship).

Presented by Daniel J. Reiter, Esq., this program will benefit trusts and estates attorneys and real estate attorneys in New York State.

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate how New York law treats real estate and shares in a cooperative corporation
2. Discuss how property passes outside of probate via life estates, joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, and tenancy by the entirety, and differentiate these titles from tenants in common
3. Explore the laws of automatic vesting of real property via a specific devise in a will or intestacy
4. Review the powers of the executor or administrator depending on how property is titled
5. Analyze the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, article 19
6. Identify special rules relating to executors’ and administrators’ deeds
7. Deal with title companies
8. Administer property in a lifetime trust