A practice of Jacobs Counsel LLCLicensed in New York, New Jersey & Ohio
Legacy Counsel

Probate & trust administration

A clear next step after a death.

We represent executors, administrators and trustees: establishing authority to act, identifying which assets require administration, giving the notices the law requires, keeping records that hold up, and getting to distribution.

Where the work actually goes

Establish who can act

Start by establishing who has authority to act for each asset. Probate is the court process for proving a will and appointing the person it names. When there is no will, appointment happens through a different proceeding, and state law — not the family — sets who has priority to serve. That step involves the original document where one exists, the court's filing requirements, notice to or consents from the people entitled to them, sometimes a bond, and then the certificates banks and transfer agents will actually accept. A trustee's authority comes from the trust instrument instead, but institutions still ask for proof of it.

Determine which assets need administration

Next comes an honest inventory: what the person owned, how each asset was titled, and what each beneficiary designation says. Accounts with a valid designation, property held with survivorship rights, and assets a trust actually holds generally pass outside the probate estate. Assets in the decedent's name alone, with no effective transfer mechanism, are usually the ones that need a court-appointed fiduciary. Real estate in another state, a closely held business interest, or a plan account with tax consequences each need separate handling.

Coordinate records, tax preparers and distributions

A fiduciary is accountable, so the record matters: date-of-death values, receipts and disbursements, debts and claims presented, and decisions made along the way. We identify which tax filings the matter appears to require, prepare the ones the engagement lists, and work with the accountant or tax preparer on income tax returns and anything else outside that scope. Distribution comes last, in the order the document and state law allow, with the releases or accounting that protect the person who signed for it.

Trusts, and who we represent

Trust administration applies to the assets the trust holds, and it is usually less court-driven than probate — but it is not automatically court-free. A trustee may still need the court to construe a provision, approve an accounting, resolve a dispute, or authorize a transaction. It is also common for a family to have both: a trust to administer and an estate to open for assets that never made it into the trust.

Because a fiduciary owes duties to the beneficiaries as a whole, we settle at the outset whether we represent the executor or trustee in that role, or an individual beneficiary. Advice to a fiduciary is not advice to a beneficiary personally, and where those interests may diverge, one side may need separate counsel. We run a conflicts check and confirm the role in writing before any engagement.

Sources checked September 7, 2026: NY Courts — probate when a person dies with a will, Supreme Court of Ohio — decedent's estate forms, and NJ Division of Taxation — inheritance tax. Requirements differ by state and by county, and these pages do not decide any particular estate.

Questions executors ask first

How long does administration take?

Two different clocks are worth separating. Getting someone appointed and able to act is usually the shorter step, and it depends on the court's schedule, whether an original will is available and self-proving, whether the people entitled to notice sign consents or have to be served, and whether anything is contested. Completing the administration takes longer, because it depends on what has to be collected, whether real estate or a business interest has to be sold, the period allowed for creditors to present claims, any state inheritance or estate tax filings and the wait for a closing letter or clearance, whether an income tax return is due for the estate or trust, and whether beneficiaries disagree about any of it. We can estimate the sequence for your matter once we see the documents and the asset list; we do not quote a fixed number of months in advance.

Does every asset have to go through the court?

No. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, by valid survivorship title, or through a trust that actually holds them generally pass outside the probate estate, though they may still be reportable for tax purposes and may still need cooperation from the institution. Assets held in the decedent's name alone, without an effective transfer mechanism, are typically the ones that require a court-appointed fiduciary. Sorting which category each asset falls into is usually the first substantive step.

Is trust administration the same thing as probate?

No. Probate is the court process for proving a will and appointing the person named to administer the estate; when there is no will, appointment happens through a different proceeding under state law, with different priority rules for who may serve. Trust administration is the trustee's job under the trust instrument for the assets the trust actually holds. It is usually less court-driven, but it is not automatically court-free: a trustee may need court involvement for construction, accounting, a dispute, or a transaction that requires it, and trust and estate work often run side by side in the same family.

Can you advise me if I am both the executor and a beneficiary?

Often yes, but the first thing we settle is who our client is. An executor or trustee has duties to the beneficiaries as a whole, and advice given to the fiduciary in that role is not advice to any beneficiary individually. If a beneficiary and a fiduciary have interests that may diverge, we identify that before taking on the matter, and one of them may need separate counsel. We run a conflicts check before any engagement and confirm the role in writing.

Do you handle the tax returns?

Not as a matter of course. We identify which filings the matter appears to require, prepare and file the state filings that the engagement agreement lists, and work alongside the accountant or tax preparer for income tax returns and anything else outside that scope. Which filings are included, and which stay with a tax professional, is written into the engagement agreement rather than assumed.

Useful next reading

Bring what you have and we will map the sequence.

Start with the complimentary fit-and-intake call with Jamee, or book a paid attorney strategy session with Drew if you want legal analysis before engaging.