Still With the Insurer
Does Any of This Apply Yet?
Not the trust, because no asset of it exists. What matters now is the claim itself and how the settlement is broken down.
What Should I Be Asking For?
A breakdown by component. Dwelling, other structures, contents and additional living expenses are different things with different purposes.
Can I Sell Before It Settles?
Yes. Who keeps the proceeds becomes a contract term, and it is one to have read by a New York lawyer.
The Claim Was Denied.
Then there is no trust to worry about and the file is about the building and the value. We buy these regularly.
In Your Account
Is It My Money?
You received it and you are the trustee of it under section 70(2), with the proceeds being trust assets under section 70(5)(f). Those are not the same thing as unrestricted funds.
When Did That Start?
When the asset came into existence, whether or not there was at that time any beneficiary, under section 70(3).
Do I Need a Separate Account?
Not required where proper books and records are kept, and it is the easiest way to produce them.
What Records Should I Keep?
Date, amount, recipient, purpose and method for anything that leaves. Failure to keep the records section 75 requires is presumptive evidence of diversion.
I Have Already Spent Some.
What matters is what it went on and who is owed. Start recording now rather than reconstructing later, and take advice.
With a Contractor
Whose Money Is It Now?
Theirs to hold as trustee. Funds received under a contract for an improvement are trust assets and their subcontractors and suppliers are beneficiaries.
What Should I Have Got in Return?
Lien waivers as you pay, from the contractor and where the sums justify it from significant subcontractors and suppliers.
They Took a Draw and Stopped.
Take it to a New York lawyer. The thirty-one day provision and the records presumption operate against the party holding the funds.
Can Subcontractors Come After Me?
A mechanic's lien against the property is a separate mechanism from the trust, and it is exactly why lien waivers matter. Check the county clerk's records.
Spent, or Gone
Is It Too Late to Do Anything?
No, and the priority changes from prevention to reconstruction. Assemble what evidence exists from statements, receipts and messages, and take advice.
Can I Still Sell?
Yes, and disclose the position at the start. A buyer who discovers unpaid trades after closing is a buyer with a problem and a claim.
What Do I Tell a Buyer?
What arrived, what went where, and what remains outstanding. Precision here protects you more than vagueness does.
Questions Whatever the Answer
How Many Winters Can the Building Take?
Each one matters. Freeze and thaw works water into charred timber, and a frame retainable in autumn frequently is not by spring.
Should I Secure It?
Yes, before the first hard freeze. It is the cheapest work on the property and the only item that gets more expensive by waiting.
Is There a Fee for a Figure?
None, and declining costs nothing either.
If your question is specific to your property — and the good ones usually are — send the address. The answer usually turns on where the money is and what the building will still do, and our service area index sets out what changes across the region.