E287 How Long Does Probating Bitcoin Take in New York?

<p>How long does probate take in New York if the estate includes bitcoin? As we talked about in  a prior blog <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/how-long-does-probate-take-in-new-york/"><em> How Long Does Probate Take in New York</em></a><em>,</em> generally probate takes 15 months or longer; sometimes up to 3 years. Those numbers are actually on the lower side, because everything is more delayed these days.</p> <p>Here we will discuss how a new-ish asset like bitcoin may add some delays.</p> <h2>How long does it take to become executor of a New York estate with bitcoin?</h2> <p>Typically, it takes about 3-6 months to file and get the court paperwork naming someone as executor. The reasons for the delays are:</p> <ol> <li>Collecting documents;</li> <li>Court delays; and</li> <li>Hearings before the court will decide who should be executor.</li> </ol> <p>Even with bitcoin added to the mix, this step of the probate process will remain about the same. The only area where bitcoin would make any difference is the estimated value of estate on the probate petition. The executor may have trouble pinning down how much bitcoin the decedent had. Also, because bitcoin is a newer hot topic, the knowledge that the decedent had bitcoin could attract greedy heirs. “Hmm, Uncle Joe had bitcoin; maybe I should contest his will,” etc.</p> <h2>How long to settle an estate with bitcoin in New York?</h2> <p>Typically, it takes 15 months to 3 years to settle an estate. Settling an estate means the executor collects assets and pays debts and taxes to get the net amount to distribute to the heirs.</p> <p>Of course, after 2020, everything has slowed down. Probate is currently taking much longer than mentioned above. Then, if you add a newer asset like bitcoin, a few more months may be added to the process.</p> <p>The first reason is because of bureaucracies. Even traditional banks and brokerages are not great at handling decedent's estates. It’s a constant game of phone tag. New bureaucracies (exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Gemini, Coi