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.
Continue Reading SCPA 2103 Proceedings – A Fiduciary’s Right to Commence a Licensed Fishing Expedition
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 issued an opinion that serves as an important guidepost for the kind of conduct that warrants removal. Ilene Cooper discusses the decision in our latest post.
Continue Reading Appellate Division Addresses the Removal of a Fiduciary
When thinking of the Surrogate’s Court, jurisdiction over eviction proceedings does not normally come to mind. Yet, over the past 18 months, the Surrogates of New York and Bronx counties have found cause to order an eviction from estate or trust property in order to facilitate its sale. Ilene Cooper discusses those cases in our latest post.
Continue Reading The Remedy of Eviction in the Surrogate’s Court
All too often co-fiduciaries do not see eye to eye in the administration of an estate or trust. They can usually work through their disagreements, but when they cannot, and their arguing and finger pointing have reached a level where their administration reaches a stand-still, one fiduciary might seek to remove his co-executor or co-trustee. Hillary Frommer discusses a recent decision addressing this issue in our latest post.
Continue Reading Can’t We All Just Get Along: When Non-Cooperation Leads to Removal
There have been several New York decisions addressing the evolving issue of access to a decedent’s digital assets since our last post on the subject one year ago. Our latest post provides an update as to the state of the law in this area.
Continue Reading The Path to Disclosure of a Decedent’s Digital Assets: Settled or Evolving?
One of the most fundamental duties of a fiduciary is the duty of loyalty. That is, every fiduciary must administer the estate or trust subject to his or her stewardship solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. If a fiduciary engages in self-dealing, that duty is breached. In Matter of Smith, the Surrogate’s Court, Albany County, recently addressed the liability attendant to fiduciary self-dealing . Ilene Cooper discusses the decision in our latest post.
Continue Reading Fiduciary Self-Dealing
In 2016, the New York Legislature enacted a version of the Uniform Law Commission’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act in Article 13-A (“Article 13-A”) of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (“EPTL”). As illustrated by two recently decided New York Surrogate Court cases, and as previously discussed on this blog (You’ve
My colleagues have written on the enforceability of in terrorem clauses, and the courts continue to confront challenges in reconciling the testator’s intent to impose an in terrorem condition with the rights of beneficiaries to challenge the conduct of their fiduciary. The New York County Surrogate’s Court’s recent decision in Matter of Merenstein provides further
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.
Continue Reading Hasta La Vista, Exoneration Clauses
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