On June 24, the New York State Senate gave its approval to a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in a dramatic late night session. Having already passed the Assembly, the bill was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo at midnight. New York is now the sixth —and largest— jurisdiction to enact a same-sex marriage act. The legal implications of this new legislation will soon be felt across the state.Continue Reading New York’s Historic Legalization Of Same Sex Marriage Has Broad Legal Implications

TheNew York Times has reported that many wealthy Americans seem reluctant to take advantage of the new tax breaks which Congress recently afforded them should they elect to set up trusts which will provide them with substantial breaks on estate taxes. These new tax breaks will expire in just two years so it is a "use it or lose it" proposition promising substantial savings for those super-advantaged folks in a position to benefit from the new law. Since the trusts take up to a year to implement, the window of opportunity is only open for a very short period.Continue Reading We Should All Have This Problem!

It is four years since the death of Anna Nicole Smith from an accidental prescription drug overdose. The smoke has cleared from the great "Who’s Your Daddy ?" controversy which exploded across the nation’s headlines soon after. And now, the ABA Journal reports that her heirs are about to carry on her fight for the fortune of her late husband to the Supreme Court.Continue Reading She’s Baaaack! Anna Nicole Smith’s Case Finally Reaches The Supreme Court

Yesterday we reported on theWashington Post‘s story about the estate of the  late football great Gene Upshaw being settled on the eve of trial. Today’s Post publishes shocking revelations about the final hours of the life of Mr. Upshaw and the controversy surviving what was offered as his "will".Continue Reading The Gene Upshaw Story Continues –How Not To Do It

Today’s Washington Post has reported that an estate contest between members of NFL football great Gene Upshaw’s family has ended in a confidential settlement. Evidently, that portion of his estate which drew the most fire was the disposition of a $15 million deferred compensation fund which the NFL Players Association paid to his widow. This payment had been previously undisclosed and raised a myriad of issues not only in the Upshaw family but also in the NFL where players were aghast that the late head of their union had received such a large benefit.Continue Reading Confidential Settlement In Gene Upshaw Estate

Your faithful lawblogger has just been informed that New York Probate & Estate Litigation.com has been nominated as a candidate to be one of the LexisNexis top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs of 2011 featured on the LexisNexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Community. We’d absolutely LOVE the support of our readers so please…

The first indication I got that something was afoot was an invitation to a retirement party to be held  for thirteen clerks and law assistants in the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court. It seems that they had all been offered "packages" to retire from civil service. Some of these extremely talented folks have been in the court system for more than thirty years and their departures will leave a void that will take a long time to fill. This is especially true since no replacements have been named yet and no transition plan is in place to provide some continuity in service to the bar and the public.Continue Reading Budget Cuts Will Have Impact On The Surrogate’s Court

The death of New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner has created a void on our local sports scene which will be hard to fill. Even though your faithful lawblogger has been a fan of New York’s other team since its founding in 1962 (and before that, I confess to being a New York baseball Giant fanatic), the "Boss" has been a colorful and charitably generous man who has provided us with years of excitement. Investing about seven million dollars of his own funds into a failing Yankee franchise when he purchased it in the early seventies, Steinbrenner built his fortune up to over  1.1 billion dollars at his death.Continue Reading While New York Will Miss George Steinbrenner, Uncle Sam Will Miss His Money