An article in today’s New York Times sheds some interesting light on powers of attorney and their sometimes unforeseen drawbacks. Your lawblogger thinks it is well worth a look.

The Do It Yourself  legal industry is flourishing with claims that you do not need a lawyer to get your affairs in order with a low-cost DIY will. Just input your credit card information, download the easy to use form, fill in the blank spaces and seal it in an envelope in anticipation of Judgment Day. $29.95 will get you the security of knowing that you have made your Will and have not had to lay out huge sums of money for an attorney.Continue Reading Do Not Try This At Home –The Do It Yourself Will

One of the major features of the Surrogate’s Court is that it is a court of public record. Unfortunately, that can be one of its major drawbacks. Every document filed in every estate is available to anyone. If your grandfather (great grandfather) passed away here in the twenties, his Will together with lots of information about your family is there for all to see. Great if you are a history buff or looking for information about your ancestors but not so great if you would like to keep private stuff private. An example of this can be seen after the recent celebrity deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lou Reed and James Gandolfini. All of the minute details of their estate planning (or lack of same) are on public display.Continue Reading Sometimes A Trust Works Best

In her last public interview in 1994, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis stated that her most important accomplishment in life was to insure that her children loved each other. Your lawblogger has taken her words to heart over the years. As a litigator practicing in the field of contested matrimonials and contested estates, I can definitively state…

A power of attorney is a powerful document posing some danger to the holder. It is common to receive a power of attorney from an aging parent or relative in order to help them handle their personal affairs. In effect, it allows the holder to stand in the shoes of the giver and act as though he or she was that person as far as the outside world is concerned, but a world of trouble lies in wait for the unfortunate who fails to properly use the power.Continue Reading Be Careful With Mom’s Power Of Attorney

In order to commence estate proceedings, it is first necessary that all persons essential to the estate receive notice. This would include any person named in the will or anyone who would have standing to object to the will. If there is no will, it would include all distributees — next of kin who would inherit pursuant to intestacy. In order to streamline the proceedings , a lawyer representing the petitioner seeking to be either the executor or administrator will start by mailing a waiver to every necessary person .Continue Reading When You Get A Waiver In The Mail

Every will drafted by an attorney is almost certain to have a residuary clause. This is an essential catch-all provision inserted to make sure that assets go where they are supposed to go. Here is an article by Dennis Fordham in the Lake County (California) News which provides useful information on  this important provision of…

Your will should not be a do it yourself project. Here are some things to avoid doing when it comes to your will.

1. Do not make changes to your existing will by crossing out provisions and inking in your own new ones. In New York, the probate clerk will examine a will for alterations. A provision which has been stricken from the will with a new term inserted by pen or pencil will simply be ignored in favor of the original. If a portion of the will is blacked out with a marker, the entire will is going to be invalidated and the testator will be intestate.

2. Never make a copy of your signed will. This is an invitation to mischief after you are gone since a photocopy can ultimately be admitted to probate. This can lead to a situation where an interested, if less than honest relative may find both the photocopy together with the original of your latest will. If the photocopy treats that person better than your later will…..just guess which is the one to actually be brought to a lawyer to be offered for probate!Continue Reading Four Boneheaded Things Not To Do If You Are Making A Will