Sometime in 1985, the respondent was retained by a woman to probate the Last Will and Testament of her deceased mother. The respondent accepted the retainer with full knowledge that the Will would have to be probated in the Court (for estate administration or will contest; estate litigation) in which…
A woman who lived for thirty years with her niece in New York executed a will sometime on February 5, 1955. In will, she distributed her estate to her son who was a resident of Wayne County and her niece who was a resident of New York County. The woman…
Two men were business partners. In 1925, one partner filed a suit to compel his business partner to account for the properties of the partnership in his keeping. The partner who sued contended that his business partner diverted the profits of their business. While the suit for accounting was pending,…
A petition for probate was filed. A contestant came forward in the probate proceeding contesting the due execution of the will and contesting as well the testamentary capacity of the testator. The contestant in his objection made general allegations of fraud and undue influence against the proponent of the will.…
A citizen of the United States and resident of Kings County had lived most of his life in Kings County and has acquired properties and interests there. However, in the last years of his life he has lived in Casablanca in the Northern African French Protectorate of Morocco. The Surrogate’s…
A woman died in October 1951. She executed a last will and testament nine years earlier in 1942. This will was submitted for probate and was admitted into probate in St. Lawrence County. The legatees of a more recent will allegedly executed by the woman in June 1951 four months…
A woman died on October 26, 2000. The alleged last will and testament was executed on March 23, 1995. Under the last will and testament, the woman left her estate to her two sisters, or the survivor. She named her elder sister as executor and the younger sister as successor.…
The wife of a chemical engineering professor left a piece of real property which comprised a substantial portion of her estate worth around $2,800,000 to a polytechnic university. She also left the sum of $2,000,000 as a charitable endowment gift to the same polytechnic university provided that it shall be…
The Facts: On 3 March 1994, a decedent died. He was survived by his ex-wife and their four children. Under the decedent’s will dated 3 August 1988, he left his estate to the daughter (“the daughter”) of one of his sons (“son-one”). On 3 November 1994, the will was admitted…
A woman executed a will two weeks before she died in September 1992. She left an estate worth $2,000,000. Her will was offered for probate by the executors. During the proceedings, it was discovered that the woman filed with the Surrogate’s Court a prior will dated July 1992. The provisions…