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Today, the Second Department of the Appellate Division vacated a default in theMatter of  Skolnick, (2013 NY  Slip Op 05364) reversing the decision of the Surrogate’s Court of Rockland County. In this action, the objectant Stacy Ross had unsuccessfully attempted to vacate a default in the lower court after the Petitioner had failed to…

Nassau County Surrogate Edward W. McCarty III has ruled in the Matter of The Estate of Walsh   (2013 NY Slip Op 51060(U)) that an in terrorem clause in the decedent’s Will was not violated when a beneficiary of the estate  opposed the executor’s turnover petition seeking to recover the proceeds of a joint account which was in the name of her sister and the decedent and which the executor claimed was merely an account of convenience for the decedent. Upon her sister, Joan Tipping responding to claim the proceeds of the account as her own, the executor, Patricia Walsh attempted to invoke the Will’s in terrorem clause  which provided that a legacy would be forfeited if the beneficiary filed a claim against the estate later determined to be invalid.Continue Reading Court Rules Against Operation Of In Terrorem Clause

If you have minor children, your legal affairs are not in order without a Will with a minor’s trust. Your lawblogger’s first boss used to say that the cost of the sports car your child purchases at eighteen is directly proportional to the amount of his or her inheritance. Some lawyers –including yours truly– will refuse to prepare a Will which omits a trust if minor children are involved. A trust is an absolutely necessary vehicle to manage your assets for the benefit of your children — even after they turn eighteen. Kids who have lost their parents need expert guidance to handle substantial sums of money until they mature later in their twenties (my trusts run at least to the age of twenty five).

Don’t think you will have enough to leave your kids to make a trust worthwhile? Just consider that the instrumentality of their orphaning is likely to be a catastrophic accident. Instant fortune even though you will not be here to enjoy it.

Continue Reading Choosing Your Trustees–Don’t Take Yes For An Answer

One of my first bosses used to say the price of the sports car your child purchases is directly proportional to the size of his inheritance when he turns eighteen. This tried and true axiom has occurred to more and more parents and they are dealing with the situation in greater numbers. An article by Chris Taylor in the Financial Post reported here speaks to how more folks are utilizing testamentary trusts with delayed payouts.Continue Reading Growing Strategy To Stagger Receipt Of Legacies

The estate of boxing promoter Ronald "Butch" Lewis has raised a number of issues that a local law school professor has called "a great final exam question". As reported in Delaware Online, claims for child support must be filed against an estate within eight months of a person’s death. Lewis’ child, however, was not born until nine months following his death, the child support claim having been made just eight days after his paternity was established. Continue Reading Afterborn Child Causes Confusion In Delaware Estate