SCPA 1404

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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.
Continue Reading Third Department Examines In Terrorem Clause

SCPA § 1404 requires that “at least two attesting witnesses must be produced before the court and examined before a written will is admitted to probate.” Very often, litigators think of examinations pursuant to SCPA § 1404 as examinations before trial that are conducted under Article 31 of the CPLR. But they are not. Hillary Frommer discusses this topic in our latest post.
Continue Reading A Reminder that Pre-Objection SCPA § 1404 Exams are Not Simply Article 31 “Depositions”

A nominated executor is obliged to secure estate assets even before the issuance of letters testamentary. But what if the nominated executor expends personal funds to preserve assets that she erroneously believed to belong to the estate? Is she entitled to reimbursement? The Oneida County Surrogate’s Court recently addressed this situation in Matter of Timpano. Brian Corrigan discusses the case in our latest entry.
Continue Reading Executor’s Duties Before Receiving Letters

In a decision that could well cause even the most casual trusts and estates practitioners to scratch their proverbial heads in wonder, the Appellate Division, Third Department, in Matter of Buchting, 111 AD3d 1114, 975 NYS2d 794 (3d Dept 2013), recently affirmed the determination of the Surrogate’s Court, Greene County, dismissing a “due execution” objection to probate, notwithstanding that both attesting witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to testify at their SCPA 1404 examination concerning the execution of the will. Eric Penzer discusses the decision in our latest entry.
Continue Reading “Easy” Cases Make Bad Law Too

In Matter of Smith, the nominated executor of an estate sought to dispense with the testimony of one of the attesting witnesses at the SCPA 1404 stage of a probate proceeding. The court denied the motion, explaining that the statutory requirements had not been satisfied. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the decision in our latest blog entry.
Continue Reading Motion to Dispense with Testimony of Uncooperative Attesting Witness Denied

Last week, the Court of Appeals rendered a significant decision regarding the extent of discovery that may be conducted without triggering an in terrorem clause. In Matter of Singer, objections to probate were never filed. However, the issue presented was whether a beneficiary’s decision to depose the decedent’s prior attorney, a form of discovery not protected by the safe harbor provisions of EPTL 3-3.5 or SCPA 1404, triggered the two in terrorem clauses set forth in the propounded will. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the case in this week’s blog entry.
Continue Reading Court of Appeals: Extra Deposition Did Not Violate In Terrorem Clause