Administrative Board for the Offices of the Public Administrators

Kings County Public Administrator: Selected Aspects of Estate Administration (Follow-Up Report)

When an individual dies intestate and leaves no heirs who are able or willing to administer the estate, the estate is administered by a public administrator. Such estates are to be administered in accordance with requirements specified in State law. In audit report 2002-N-11, we examined the estate management practices of the Kings County Public Administrator and found that a number of improvements were needed. For example, personal property known to the Public Administrator was not always collected or credited to the estates. As a result, arrangements had not been made for the sale of the property, and the proceeds from such sales were not available to be distributed to the rightful beneficiaries. We identified several estate disbursements that appeared to be inappropriate, and determined that payments made to the Public Administrator’s counsel for estate services were not always supported by detailed documentation, as required by law. We made a number of recommendations for improving the estate management practices of the Kings County Public Administrator, and when we followed up on the status of these recommendations, we found that they had, for the most part, been implemented.

For a complete copy of Report 2005-F-11 click here.