Representation of executors, administrators, and beneficiaries through the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court at Mineola. Probate, intestate administration, contested estates, kinship hearings, and will contests under SCPA Article 14 and related statutes.
Michel Law represents executors, administrators, trustees, and beneficiaries in all stages of Nassau County estate administration before the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court at 262 Old Country Road, Mineola.
The firm handles standard probate and administration proceedings, contested will matters including SCPA 1404 examinations, kinship hearings, accounting proceedings, elective-share claims under EPTL 5-1.1-A, and ancillary real property matters arising in estate administration.
Every matter is handled directly by the managing attorney, Fabrice K. Michel. The firm’s Great Neck office is twenty minutes from the Mineola Surrogate.
Petition for probate of a Last Will and Testament under SCPA Article 14, representation of nominated executors through letters testamentary, and administration through the final accounting.
Petition for letters of administration where the decedent died without a will. Representation of the proposed administrator through appointment, estate marshalling, creditor claims, and distribution under EPTL 4-1.1.
Representation of will proponents and objectants in contested probate matters. SCPA 1404 examinations of attesting witnesses, drafting attorney, and nominated executor on grounds of lack of due execution, lack of capacity, undue influence, or fraud.
Representation of claimants in kinship proceedings before the Nassau Surrogate, establishing status as a distributee of a decedent who died intestate without close relatives.
Judicial settlement of fiduciary accounts under SCPA 2208 and SCPA 2211. Representation of petitioning fiduciaries and objecting beneficiaries.
Representation of surviving spouses asserting the right of election under EPTL 5-1.1-A, and representation of estates responding to elective-share claims.
Jurisdiction: All probate, administration, accounting, and contested matters concerning estates of decedents domiciled in Nassau County at death. Trust accountings and construction proceedings. Guardianship for infants (SCPA Article 17).
The nominated executor petitions the Nassau Surrogate at 262 Old Country Road, Mineola, for probate of the will and letters testamentary. The petition identifies the decedent, lists the decedent’s distributees (persons who would inherit if there were no will), and attaches the original will and death certificate. The firm handles preparation and filing of the petition and all follow-on administration.
Under SCPA 1404, a person with a potential objection to a will may examine the attesting witnesses, the drafting attorney, and the nominated executor before deciding whether to file formal objections. The examination is designed to allow informed decisions about whether the will was duly executed and whether the testator had capacity and was free from undue influence. SCPA 1404 examinations are a critical early step in Nassau contested-will matters.
New York imposes its own estate tax with a cliff provision: estates exceeding approximately $7.16 million (adjusted annually) are taxed on the entire estate rather than only the amount over the exemption. The Nassau Surrogate reviews the New York estate tax return (ET-706) alongside the federal return, and estates near the threshold warrant careful advance planning or qualified disclaimers to avoid the cliff.
Uncontested probate and administration in Nassau typically run twelve to eighteen months from the petition to the final accounting and distribution. Contested matters — will contests, kinship disputes, elective-share claims, or accounting objections — commonly run two to four years.
All inquiries are held in strict confidence.