accounting-300x199The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has published numerous articles concerning all aspects of probate, administration and Surrogate’s Court and estate matters.  Most recently, an article was published on October 8, 2024 entitled “A Compulsory Accounting May Be Required for the Best Interests of an Estate”, which discussed the consideration by the Court of a compulsory accounting in the context of the best interests of an estate.  As a recap, estate fiduciaries such as an executor or administrator are required to provide estate beneficiaries with an accounting of their fiduciary activities.  An accounting is comprised of numerous schedules which contain itemized and detailed descriptions of the financial activities which took place during the course of the administration of a trust or an estate.  These various schedules include lists and values of the assets received, income received, investments that were made, expenditures which were made and a statement of the balance of assets remaining on hand.  There is also a schedule showing a computation of fiduciary commissions.

In cases where a fiduciary is not providing information to beneficiaries, a compulsory accounting proceeding can be filed with the Surrogate’s Court to request that the Court direct a fiduciary to file an accounting.  Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act Section 2205 entitled “Compulsory account and related relief on a court’s own initiative or on petition; who may petition” and Section 2206 entitled “Compulsory account and related relief; proceedings thereupon” provide the provisions for implementing this procedure.

I recently had occasion in a Manhattan estate to file a petition for a client to obtain a compulsory accounting.  The petitioner was the surviving spouse of a decedent.  Since the petitioner was not named as a beneficiary in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, a spousal right of election was filed with the Court.  A right of election is provided for under Estates Powers and Trusts Law Section 5-1.1-A entitled “A Right of election by surviving spouse”.  This statute allows a surviving spouse to receive one-third (1/3) of a decedent’s net estate.