It is not uncommon for a parent to disinherit a child. This is usually done pro forma when leaving an entire estate to a surviving spouse. Parents with younger children generally disinherit them in order to insure that their spouses are left with sufficient assets to raise the kids to adulthood. Adult children are often disinherited in favor of a surviving parent to insure that their parents will have sufficient resources to see them through retirement. Continue Reading Angry Wills

Thanks to professor of law Gerry W. Beyer’s Wills,Trusts and Estates Prof Blog, I read a very interesting article originally published this past week in The Hill by Elana Schor which provides an in-depth explanation of just what Senator Frist has done (and may have been intending to accomplish) with the use of Generation Skipping Trusts (GSTs) and blind trusts to manage his holdings in his family’s huge Health Corporation of America stock. Not only does Ms Schor give us a good overview of the way in which these trusts operate and the laws that enable them, but also gives political junkies like me a new perceptive on just what may be happening in the insider trading investigation currently unfolding in Washington.

In the Matter of Zirinsky 2005 NY Slip Op 25454, Nassau County New York Surrogate John Riordan ruled that the fiduciary of a deceased fiduciary must apply to the Court under SCPA 2207(7) in order to obtain all of the rights and powers of the deceased fiduciary. In the absence of such a determination, the power of the fiduciary is limited to that property of the estate coming within his or her possession at the death of the origninal fiduciary. Continue Reading A Fiduciary Cannot Account to Him or Herself

Probate is the procedure which determines whether or not a will was properly drawn and executed and is the genuine instrument setting forth the wishes and directions of its maker for the disposition of his or her property. In spite of a flood of books and articles constantly demonizing probate and offering us a myriad of ways to avoid it, probate helps to insure that your plans for the disposition of your estate will, in fact, be honored after your death. Continue Reading What is Probate?

In order for a will to be successfully contested, the first step is the examination of its witnesses and attorney-draftsman as to the facts and circumstances surrounding the instrument’s execution. This proceeding gives the first glimpse into whether or not the law was properly followed in executing the will and whether or not the testator was mentally competent or subject to duress at the time. Section 1404 of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA)provides objectant’s counsel with this important tool. Continue Reading Examination of Witnesses to a Will

A decision of New York’s Court of Appeals handed down on October 27,2005 and published in the October 28 issue of the New York Law Journal in Estate of Mildred B Murphy, Deceased 4 No. 137 resolved issues raised in an unusual situation where a birth mother outlived a son who had been adopted-out but was also named in her will as a beneficiary. The question was whether or not the bequests set out in the will lapsed or passed to his issue pursuant to New York’s anti-lapse statute (EPTL 3-3.3) Continue Reading ‘Adopted-Out’ child Ruled Issue of Birth Parent if Named as Beneficiary in Will

A fiduciary holds assets on behalf of another. Examples of fiduciaries include trustees as well as executors and administrators of estates.Also, a person holding a power of attorney may be a fiduciary. Fiduciaries are held to an extremely high standard of conduct and may be subject to severe penalties should they not adhere to it. Continue Reading Fiduciaries

Suffolk County N.Y. police determined that Julie-Ann Low had been slain by her boyfriend Guilio Romano who had then gone on to take his own life. Ms. Low’s will provided that Romano was to inherit her home in Westhampton N.Y. together with its contents. The petitioners moved by summary judgment to disqualify Romano’s estate on the grounds that he had killed Ms. Low before committing suicide.

Suffolk County Surrogate John Czygier ruled that the petitioners had made a prima facia showing that Romano had murdered Ms. Low and granted summary judgment as a matter of law disqualifying the estate Continue Reading Murder-Suicide Disqualifies Killer’s Estate

By a 3-2 majority, New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department has stated that same-sex partners cannot pursue an action for wrongful death in New York. Langan v. St. Vincent’s Hospital, 2003-04702 was originally commenced by the survivor of a same-sex couple whose partner died after undergoing surgery for injuries suffered after having been struck by an automobile. The couple had earlier entered into a civil union in Vermont where such agreements are legal and binding. Continue Reading Same Sex Partner Loses Wrongful Death Action

In a decision handed down on July 11,2005, New York’s Appellate Division made some important distinctions between joint and mutual wills. Schloss v. Koslow, 800 N.Y.S.2d 715(A.D.2 Dept 2005) found that there was insufficient basis to infer that a promise by a testator never to alter or revoke his will gave rise to a binding contract which might be enforced by a third party beneficiary. Continue Reading Mutual Will Held to be Revocable