For trust and estate litigators, the federal court experience invariably begins – and sometimes ends — with an analysis of the probate exception to federal diversity jurisdiction.  Two recent Southern District cases examine the probate exception.  Part 1 of this blog series introduces the probate exception and discusses an “easy” case; Woitovichv. Schoenfeld.  Part

It is easy to be cynical about the “pots and pans,” “tchotchkes,” and “junk” – – the property that is often divided in a contentious manner at the bitter end of an estate litigation, or sometimes forgotten after years of litigation. An ongoing dispute in one of my cases led me to reflect on a