§ 1419 Process; renunciation or exclusion of persons having prior or equal right

When someone asks the court to be named administrator of an estate with a will attached (meaning there's a will, but no executor is available or willing to serve), the court has to notify certain people first. Specifically, anyone who has an equal or stronger legal right to take on that role must be told about the request, unless they've already given up their right to it. This includes people acting on behalf of someone else, like a guardian handling matters for a child or a person who can't manage their own affairs.

The process for handling this kind of case works the same way as it would if someone had died without a will at all. The court follows the same basic steps to notify people and move the case forward.

There's one exception. If a person who needs to be notified doesn't live in New York, the court can decide to skip the formal notification process for them. This gives the court some flexibility so cases don't get stuck waiting on paperwork for someone living far away.