Q: My father was a beneficiary of an estate that was not settled prior to his death.
My father was a beneficiary of an estate that was not settled prior to his death. After my father passed, we hired an attorney only to probate his will and assign an executor. Our attorney got involved with the attorney for the estate my father was a beneficiary of. We were told that we should not communicate with the estate attorney for which my father was a beneficiary. We have since terminated the services of counsel for my father’s estate however we are looking to settle the estate for which my father was a beneficiary and are wondering if distribution checks can be written for each individual that is a beneficiary of my father’s estate or does the check have to go to the estate of my father? Can the executor of the estate of which my dad was a beneficiary request individual payouts? Both estates are domiciled in NY.
A: You can request the checks be made a certain way, but if I were the lawyer for the first estate, I would insist that the check be made to the Estate of your father, and a release be signed by your father's executor. If you can get the lawyer to do otherwise, it is not illegal.
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