CNN has reported that the Senate has failed at an attempt to reach a compromise on legislation to raise the limits on the estate tax after an earlier attempt at outright repeal of the tax also failed. Repeal of the estate tax would affect less than one percent of all estates of persons dying after the first of this year but it is also estimated that the cost in revenue to the goverment would be as high as one trillion dollars between the years 2012 and 2021.

I could not help but notice that, in a related article, CNN reported that an (unscientific) online poll indicates that fully 51% of those repsonding favored the outright elimination of the tax. It is a sobering thought that those special interest groups fighting for estate tax repeal have succeeded to the point where 51% of the public appears to be willing to shoulder a one trillion dollar tax burden which the wealthiest .3% of Americans would be relieved of paying.

A New York State Supreme Court decision in Rivers v. Genesis Holding LLC 812 N.Y.S. 2d 301 is a powerful reminder about the perils of settling a case involving an estate before all the “t” s are crossed and all the “i” s are dotted. This negligence action settled for only $7,500 in New York County (Manhattan) . Plaintiff died after commencing the action to recover for injuries she suffered in a slip and fall. After her administratrix was substituted , attorneys for the parties agreed on a settlement subject to the Surrogate’s Courts approval. This settlement was made in open court and was marked “settled” on the court system’s computer. Continue Reading State Supreme Court Settlement Conditioned On Surrogate’s Approval Unravels

Your faithful law blogger arrived home tonight to find our two family felines -visions of endless quantities of cat treats abounding in their heads– trying their best to read today’s issue of the New York Sun which features an article on pet trusts. While I was well-aware that pet trusts are legally recognized, effective and widely-used estate planning tools in New York, I frankly had no idea as to the extent to which they are currently being utilized. It seems that six figure bequests for Fido and Fluffy are becoming more common than one might otherwise think. This summer’s conference of the American Bar Association to be held in Hawaii will have a session on pet trusts and there are now attorneys who have begun to specialize in this area of the law.

When Paul P.K. Huang died on August 19, 2004 as a resident of Manhattan, no fewer than eight wills surfaced! On motion of the petitioner, seven of these wills were denied probate even though all of them were dated subsequent to the will offered for probate which was dated October 7, 1998. Continue Reading Will’s Revocation Fails to Revive Prior Revoked Wills

The May 14th issue of the Stamford Advocate contains a cautionary story by Julie Jason about the perils of becoming a fiduciary. While you will really have to be incredibly unlucky to suffer the fate of Monsignor Bolduc’s executor, this article really underscores the need to act quickly to retain competent counsel and learn exactly what a fiduciary’s rights and responsibilities are (you needn’t accept the apppointment if it seems too fraught with danger). Meanwhile, the finding of the Connecticut probate court seems a bit far-fetched and it would appear that the appellant’s chances are rather good. We will see.

It appears that Anna Nicole Smith’s recent Supreme Court victory may result in a flood of federal litigation of probate matters. My Florida friend and fellow law blogger Juan Antunez (Florida Probate Litigation. com) ruminates on this idea in his blog today and contemplates spending a lot more time in federal court in the future. Continue Reading Will Anna Nicole Smith Case Cause a Stampede to Federal Court?

Former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith has won a major victory in the Supreme Court. Associated Press has reported that the court voted unanimously to give her another day in court and revived her claim against the estate of her late husband J. Howard Marshall II. The ruling has great significance in that it allows federal courts greater authority to resolve claims arising out of estates although state courts retain their sole authority to probate a will. Continue Reading Supreme Court Win for Anna Nicole Smith

Earlier this year, I reported on the case of Lillian Glasser, a wealthy New Jersey widow who had become embroiled in a multi-state legal feud (Florida, Texas and New Jersey) to determine where she should live and who should serve as her guardian. An article in today’s New York Times by Tina Kelly reports that Ms Glasser has been allowed to return home to New Jersey, having expressed strong desires to be allowed to do so. Continue Reading Liillian Glasser Returns Home to New Jersey to Await Outcome of Her Guardianship Proceeding

May promises to be the month that Senate Majority Leader Frist will attempt to marshall his minions to pass legislation eliminating the estate tax. If this were to come to pass, our nation’s wealthiest families would be the primary beneficiaries of the new law which would free them of billions of dollars of tax liabilities. Senator Frist’s own estate would save many millions of estate tax dollars (as, by the way, would Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s estate). Continue Reading Battle on Estate Tax Nears in Senate