Recent Articles

Small Estates In New York Are Getting Larger

Philip Bernstein
January 07, 2009 22:23

The limit for small estates for decedents dying after January 1 , 2009 has been raised in New York. In fact, it has doubled from fifteen thousand dollars to thirty thousand dollars. The filing fee for this simplified procedure is still just one dollar and it remains possible to handle a small...

Judicial Conduct Commission Recommends Suspension Of New York County Surrogate-Elect

Philip Bernstein
December 27, 2008 22:00

The dramatic saga of New York County Surrogate-elect Nora Anderson continues with the recent recommendation of the Commission on Judicial Conduct that she be suspended upon taking office on January 1st. The New York Times has reported that a letter sent by the commission to the Court of...

Back Door Post Probate Will Challenge Fails On Motion

Philip Bernstein
December 25, 2008 04:41

Edward Rogowsky died in March 2001 after leaving the stock in his Brooklyn coop to his life partner of fifteen years, Peter McGarry. The decedent's will also named McGarry as his executor and made the plaintiffs -- his two sons-- the alternate residuary beneficiaries of his will but left them...

Objectant Fails To Establish That "Insane Delusions" Warranted Denial Of Probate

Philip Bernstein
November 20, 2008 03:31

The Third Department of New York's Appellate Division has upheld a decision of the Albany County Surrogate which granted summary judgment and dismissed objections to the probate of a will in the Matter of Turner      recently decided on November 6, 2008. Interestingly...

Surrogate Directs Will Be Reformed To Include Supplemental Needs Trust

Philip Bernstein
October 25, 2008 21:41

Your faithful lawblogger was pleased to end up on the long side of an interesting decision from Nassau County Surrogate John Riordan in the Matter of Estate of Rose Rappaport , File No. 344685 which was published in the New York Law Journal on October 23. The decedent had executed a will which...

Appellate Court Directs Turnover Of Joint Account

Philip Bernstein
October 03, 2008 05:18

A recent decision by the Second Department of New York's Appellate Division in The Matter of Dubin reported as Slip Opinion 07126 on September 23rd overturned a decision of Nassau County Surrogate which found that a joint account with right of survivorship had passed outside of the decedent's...

Surrogate's Court Procedure Differers In Different Counties

Philip Bernstein
September 24, 2008 05:01

This evening your lawblogger attended a seminar in the courtroom at the Nassau County Surrogate's Court. The speakers were the clerks of the Surrogate's Courts in several Long Island counties as well as New York County. The program underscored the differences between procedure in different...

Failure To Show Due Execution Of Will Leads To Denial Of Admission To Probate

Philip Bernstein
September 16, 2008 04:58

Surrogate Thomas E. Walsh II of Rockland County has denied a probate petition where the proponent was unable to establish due execution pursuant to the requirements of the Estates Powers and Trusts Law. It would seem improbable that a will witnessed by three experienced accountants (two of them...

Legislature's Amendments to Law Impact Estates

Philip Bernstein
September 14, 2008 17:56

For those of you who may be wondering if I fell off the end of the earth, your faithful law blogger has returned after a long vacation --and all of the work that needs to be done before and after a break (yes, it was worth it, but sometimes a bit hard to tell). Our state legislature, in a fairly...

Self-Executing Affidavit Fails To Establish Due Execution; Appellate Division Orders Trial On The Merits

Philip Bernstein
July 26, 2008 03:58

A  case just handed down from New York's Appellate Division Third Department, Matter of Paigo, 2008 NY Slip Op 06250   involves an interesting and successful challenge to the presumption of due execution which arises when the witnesses to a will sign a self-executing (or...