While the Court of Appeals has rendered two important trusts and estates decisions this summer, additional topics of interest have been addressed at the trial court level. Ilene Cooper discusses a few of these “hot topics” in this week’s blog entry.
Continue Reading Hot Topics in Trusts and Estates
The Court of Appeals has issued a decision that changes the way in which a fiduciary’s legal fees incurred in defending objections will be paid from a trust or estate. In Matter of Hyde, the Court reversed its prior interpretation of SCPA 2110 and established new guidelines. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the decision in this week’s entry.
Continue Reading Court of Appeals: Fiduciary’s Legal Fees to be Equitably Allocated among Beneficiaries
In Estate of Aoki, the New York County Surrogate’s Court recently denied a motion for summary judgment to enforce a waiver of a testamentary power of appointment that had been signed by the decedent. Eric Penzer discusses the decision in this week’s blog entry.
Continue Reading Fiduciary Relationship Leads to Allegations of Constructive Fraud
Last week, the Second Department overturned a determination of the Kings County Surrogate’s Court that had disqualified an executrix based upon her selection of counsel. But while holding that letters should be reinstated, the Appellate Division also directed the fiduciary to obtain new representation. Eric Penzer discusses the decision in this week’s entry.
Continue Reading Estate Fiduciary Wrongly Deprived of Counsel of Choice?
Legal fees incurred by fiduciaries in connection wtih their stewardship are generally chargeable to a trust or estate as a whole. This week’s blog entry discusses a recent case in which non-objecting beneficiaries sought to allocate trustees’ litigation costs solely to the objecting parties’ interests.
Continue Reading Beneficiary Participation Irrelevant to Allocation of Trustees’ Litigation Costs
This week’s entry discusses a recent decision rejecting an executor’s attempt to “sell” the decedent’s house to herself for the price of $10.
Continue Reading Court Rejects Executor’s Attempt to Sell House To Herself For $10
In this week’s entry, Ilene Cooper discusses recent cases addressing issues associated with naming an attorney-draftsman as the fiduciary of an estate.
Continue Reading Cases of Attorney-Fiduciaries
This week’s entry by Jack Barnosky discusses a recent decision from the Westchester County Surrogate’s Court.
Continue Reading Tax Apportionment on Gift Tax Recapture
Parents of a decedent, as administrators of his estate, recently sought ownership rights to the decedent’s frozen sperm specimens in hope of ultimately having a grandchild by a surrogate. The First Department’s decision is explained in this week’s entry.
Continue Reading Parents of Decedent Have No Rights to Preserved Reproductive Tissue
Governor Paterson has signed legislation extending the effective date for the new Power of Attorney statute from March 1, 2009 to September 1, 2009. This provides an additional six months to learn about the significant amendments to GOL 5-1501, which were summarized in a previous posting.