Representation of executors, administrators, and beneficiaries through the Queens County Surrogate’s Court at Jamaica. 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 Queens County estate administration before the Queens County Surrogate’s Court at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica.
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. Representation is available in English and French — relevant to Queens’s significant Francophone population, including Haitian and West African communities.
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 on grounds of lack of due execution, lack of capacity, undue influence, or fraud.
Representation of claimants in kinship proceedings before the Queens Surrogate, including matters involving decedents with family in multiple countries.
Judicial settlement of fiduciary accounts under SCPA 2208 and SCPA 2211. Representation of petitioning fiduciaries and objecting beneficiaries.
Estates involving real property, bank accounts, or business interests in France, Haiti, Canada, and the Caribbean. Ancillary administration and coordination with foreign counsel.
Jurisdiction: All probate, administration, accounting, and contested matters concerning estates of decedents domiciled in Queens County at death. Trust accountings and construction proceedings. Guardianship for infants (SCPA Article 17).
Under EPTL 4-1.1, intestate estates pass to the decedent’s distributees in a statutory order — surviving spouse first, then children, then more distant relatives. A proposed administrator (typically the surviving spouse or an adult child) petitions the Queens Surrogate at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard for letters of administration. The firm handles preparation of the petition, service on distributees, and administration through final distribution.
Foreign assets of a Queens domiciliary are addressed through ancillary administration in the foreign jurisdiction, coordinated with the primary administration before the Queens Surrogate. The firm handles French-language estate documents directly and works with foreign counsel in Haiti, France, and the Francophone Caribbean to complete ancillary administration.
When the decedent’s distributees are not clearly established — because the decedent had no close relatives, had family in multiple countries, or died with uncertain family history — the Queens Surrogate holds a kinship hearing to determine who inherits the intestate estate. Claimants must prove their relationship to the decedent by documentary evidence or testimony. The firm represents claimants in Queens kinship proceedings.
Uncontested probate and administration in Queens typically run fourteen to twenty-four months from petition to final accounting and distribution. Matters involving foreign assets, kinship disputes, or will contests commonly run two to four years. Queens Surrogate has a substantial caseload; preparation and compliance with scheduling orders accelerate matters.
All inquiries are held in strict confidence.