In late-August 2018, Governor Cuomo signed into law amendments to EPTL § 11-1.7 regarding exoneration clauses in lifetime trusts, drafted by Rob Harper and Ilene S. Cooper as members of the New York State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Law Section. Rob Harper discusses the amendments in our latest blog post.
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2018
Treasure and Trinkets
By Frank T. Santoro on
Posted in Construction of Wills and Trusts
It is easy to be cynical about the “pots and pans,” “tchotchkes,” and “junk” – – the property that is often divided in a contentious manner at the bitter end of an estate litigation, or sometimes forgotten after years of litigation. An ongoing dispute in one of my cases led me to reflect on a…
“Can I sue them for legal fees?”
By Frank T. Santoro on
This is a common question from clients involved in litigation – – especially estate litigation. As a general rule, a party cannot recover attorney’s fees for successfully prosecuting or defending a lawsuit. This is the “American Rule,” and it is engrained in our legal system. New York courts are wary of deviating from the American…
Heart v. Head: A Judge’s Conundrum
By Edward D. Baker on
Posted in Uncategorized
Judicial oaths require that judges rule on the law, putting their personal feelings aside. Indeed, judges’ personal opinions are presumed to be non-factors in judicial decision making as judges are charged to uphold the letter of the law regardless of their personal beliefs. The decision in Matter of the Estate of Durcan is a case…
Waiver of Right of Election: Correction of Defective Acknowledgment
By John J. Barnosky on
Posted in Right of Election
With a specific statute mandating that pre-nuptial agreements must be acknowledged, and with a specific statutory form of acknowledgment, it is surprising that there has been so much litigation over missing or defective acknowledgements and whether they can be cured after the fact. The Second Department recently addressed this issue in Matter of Koegel. Jack Barnosky discusses the case in our latest entry. …
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