The recent opinion by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in In re Strom Irrevocable Trust III, 2022 NY Slip Op 01356, provides a cautionary tale to estate litigators who conduct SCPA 1404 examinations in the face of a trust instrument’s in terrorem clause. While in terrorem clauses are strictly construed, the Appellate Division found that the subject clause had been triggered as a result of conduct engaged in by the respondent during the course of a probate proceeding regarding the grantor’s will. Ilene S. Cooper discusses the decision in our latest post.
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