Suppose that a loved one has been missing for years, for no reason at all, and without contacting family or accessing any of his or her assets. Sadly, this scenario is one that many families have had to confront in
Latest from New York Trusts & Estates Litigation
The Admission of Remotely Witnessed Wills to Probate in New York
In 2021 and 2022, I wrote about Surrogate’s Court decisions that addressed the admission of remotely witnessed wills to probate in New York State. Since then, Surrogate’s Courts have issued at least two more decisions addressing the validity of remotely
Matter of Samuel – Artificial Intelligence Hallucinates and an Incapacitated Person Makes a Will
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) made legal and mainstream news in 2023. In a highly publicized and widely discussed case, Mata v. Avianca, Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sanctioned attorneys for citing to
The Probate Exception to Federal Jurisdiction – From Woitovich (Part 1) to Bulgari (Part 2)
For trust and estate litigators, the federal court experience invariably begins – and sometimes ends — with an analysis of the probate exception to federal diversity jurisdiction. Two recent Southern District cases examine the probate exception. Part 1 of this
SCPA 2103 Proceedings – A Fiduciary’s Right to Commence a Licensed Fishing Expedition
A discovery proceeding pursuant to SCPA 2103 may be commenced by any legal representative of the estate, including a preliminary executor or a temporary administrator. Ed Baker provides an overview of these proceedings in our latest post.
Third Department Examines In Terrorem Clause
The recent opinion by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in In re Strom Irrevocable Trust III, 2022 NY Slip Op 01356, provides a cautionary tale to estate litigators who conduct SCPA 1404 examinations in the face of a trust instrument’s
Appellate Division Addresses the Removal of a Fiduciary
While the removal of a fiduciary has long been the subject of Surrogate’s Court opinions, it is not often that the Appellate Division weighs in on the issue. However, in Matter of Epstein, the Second Department did just that, and
THE CHALLENGE OF FINDING ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE IN ABANDONMENT PROCEEDINGS
Some of the most interesting estate litigation issues arise in proceedings to determine a surviving spouse’s entitlement to an elective share, particularly when there are claims of abandonment. Bret Cahn discusses certain abandonment decisions and the evidentiary issues raised therein,
The Case Settled
Courts greatly appreciate when parties settle their disputes by agreement. Settlements alleviate the courts of the burden of overwhelming caseloads, and further the public policy of encouraging parties to order their affairs by contract rather than relying on statute and
The Court of Appeals Takes a Look at an Undue Influence Claim from a Non-Jury Trial
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced litigants to wrestle with the dilemma of waiting for a jury trial or moving forward more expeditiously by way of a bench trial. Recently, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and the Court of Appeals passed