Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: probate timeframe

If you know there is a Will, where it is located and who is the Executor, you can initiate suit with the Surrogate to compel its probate. If you do not know this information, a family member can seek to be appointed Administrator of the estate and take charge of all affairs. Seeking this appointment might make the person having the Will produce it. As part of the administration you can recover the personal property and see it goes to the people entitled to it under the intestacy statute (where assets go if a person does not have a Will).