January 2021

In April 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.14, authorizing the remote witnessing of wills in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this week, Broome County Surrogate’s Court issued what appears to be the first reported New York decision addressing the admission to probate of a remotely witnessed will. Rob Harper discusses the decision in our latest post.
Continue Reading Admission of Remotely Witnessed Will to Probate

When a child is born to parents who are not married, the child often must satisfy the provisions of EPTL 4-1.2 to inherit from the estate of his or her father. However, the Appellate Division’s recent decision in Tiwary v. Tiwary has held that a child born of parents who are not married at the time of the child’s birth, but subsequently marry each other, generally need not satisfy the statute. Rob Harper discusses the decision in our latest post.
Continue Reading Non-Marital Child’s Legitimacy is Presumed for All Purposes of New York Law, Including Inheritance, When Parents Marry After the Child’s Birth