Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

Re: surrogate court

In order to answer the question properly, I need to know: Was your brother was married? Did he have any children, and if so, how old are they? Are his parents living? How many other siblings did he have?

If your brother has no spouse, and no children, and no living parent, and you are the only sibling, you may be appointed as representative (administrator) of your brother's estate by filing certain documents with the Surrogate's Court in the county where your brother lived at the time of his death.

These documents include a Petition for Letters of Administration, Original Death Certificate, Paid funeral bill, Family Tree Affidavit.

You will need to know the value of your brother's estate and whether he has any debts. The fee for filing the documents is based upon the value of the estate.

Is there a cause of action to be commenced, such as, a personal injury or wrongful death action? If so, the attorney handling the action will ordinarily arrange for your appointment as Administrator at no cost to you, as part of the services they will be providing to you.

What assets did your brother have that need to be administered? Do you want to be the representative to bring a lawsuit?

Patricia Martin-Gibbons