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

 The Matter of the Estate of Jane Grisson 2007-1804/C  (reported in the NY Law Journal at p. 17 on May 6), Surrogate Peter J Kelly applied the doctrine of res judicata to block the attempt of a fiduciary from revisiting a real estate dispute which had been litigated in the Supreme Court in 2007. Res judicata provides that once a matter has been adjudicated by any court of competent jurisdiction, it cannot be the subject of a new action. The basic idea here is that you only get one bite at the apple and cannot run to a new court for a new hearing in front of a new judge. Surrogate Kelly makes the point that even if the first court’s decision was erroneous, that incorrect result is binding for all time absent a successful appeal which was obviously not taken here.

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

In its decision in In Re Estate Of Walker914N.Y.S.2d 379, the Appellate Division’s Third Department has reminded us just how hard it can be to successfully challenge a will. The court reversed a decision of the Delaware County Surrogate denying a petitioner’s motion for summary judgment dismissing objections to the decedent’s will.

Continue Reading Appellate Court Re States The Difficulty Of A Will Contest

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 vote for  us. You can do so by following the link above to the comment post following the link to the LexisNexis Estate Practice and and Elder Law Community. 

Each comment placed in the post will count as a vote. Voting will be until March 31st with the results announced in mid- April.

It’s not likely that this will have the impact of a totally viral video on U-Tube but peer recognition provides a nice warm feeling in the middle of a nasty cold winter.

Lawblogger Phil Bernstein

The New York Law Journal has reported a decision in which the Appellate Division’s First Department has upheld a decision of New York County Surrogate Kristen Booth Glen recognizing the right of a same sex spouse to inherit. The case is In Re Estate Of Kenneth Ranftie decided on February 24th.

Continue Reading Same Sex Spouse Ruled Survivor and Sole Distributee

An Objectant seeking to block a will’s admission to probate learned the hard way that there is nothing easy about doing this. The Appellate Division, Third Department held in In Re Doody 912 N.Y.S.2d 792(A.D. 3 Dept. 2010) that upon the petitioner making out a prima facie case for valid execution, conclusory allegations were not enough to raise a triable issue of undue influence or fraud.

Continue Reading Conclusory Statements Are Not Sufficient To Raise An Issue Of Fact As To A Will’s Validity