Terms and Definitions (New York)
- Administration Proceeding: In New York State, this is a legal process where a person, appointed by the Surrogate’s Court, collects, manages, and distributes the assets of a person who dies without a valid will (intestate).
- Closing the Class: The requirement to identify and account for every single living relative who shares the exact same level of relationship to the deceased.
- Contingency-Fee Basis: An arrangement where the law firm charges fees only if they successfully recover assets, typically taking a percentage of the inheritance.
- Forensic Genealogist: A professional researcher who investigates complex family histories, tracks down missing relatives, and compiles expert reports for the court.
- Guardian ad Litem (GAL): A lawyer appointed by the Surrogate’s Court to protect the interests of any missing or unknown heirs.
- Heir: A person who has a legal right to inherit from a deceased person’s estate when they die without a will.
- Intestate: When a person dies without having a valid Last Will and Testament.
- Kinship (Direct Connection): The biological (blood or genetics) or legal (marriage or adoption) relationship a person shares with the deceased.
- Kinship Proceeding (Cousins’ Case): A formal legal process used by the court to determine and prove who is entitled to inherit when someone dies without a valid will.
- Lineal Priority (First in Line): The legal rule requiring proof that no closer living relatives exist on either the maternal or paternal side of the family with a prior right to inherit.
- Public Administrator (PA): A county office in New York that takes charge of and manages an estate when no known family members are available.
- Surrogate’s Court: The specialized New York State court that handles the administration of a deceased person’s estate, wills, and kinship proceedings.
- Testate: When a person who dies leaves behind a written, legally executed Last Will and Testament.