Dear Readers,

At the Fall meeting of the NYSBA’s Trusts and Estates Law Section (October 7-8 in Rochester), I will be moderating a panel discussion on the Court of Appeals’ three most recent pronouncements in the area of trusts and estates law, Matter of Singer, 13 NY3d 447, 449 (2009) (addressing "safe harbor" provisions of SCPA 1404), Schneider v. Finmann, 2010 NY Slip. Op. 05281 (June 17, 2010) (addressing malpractice liability of estate planning attorney), and Matter of Hyde, 2010 N.Y. Slip Op. 05676 (June 29, 2010) (addressing allocation of legal fees among beneficiaries).

The discussion panel will include, among others, Bronx County Surrogate Hon. Lee L. Holzman and Albany County Surrogate Hon. Cathryn M. Doyle. I welcome you to forward me questions and/or issues for discussion by the Panel about these three important cases.

(FYI, an excellent article discussing the Schneider and Hyde cases, by Charles F. Gibbs and Colleen F. Carew, appears in today’s New York Law Journal. Their article discussing Singer was published in the Law Journal on February 26, 2010.)

Regards,

Eric Penzer.