In the case of In re Carney’s Will, the Surrogate’s Court considered whether it should allow a party to reopen probate and contest a will a year after the will was admitted to probate letters testamentary issued to the executor. New York requires that certain procedures must be followed to…
NY Slip Op 05266 The petitioner brought this case to enforce an oral agreement that would be void because of the statute of frauds. The petitioner’s grounds for this action are unconscionability of the statute of frauds. The court agrees that when promissory estoppel is satisfied it would be unconscionable…
In this case the Surrogate’s Court had to decide how to make sure that a testator’s overall testamentary plan remained intact where a portion of the will is determined to be invalid. A. Dawe died on March 11, 2014. He was never married and never had children. He was survived…
Ballasalmo died at the age of 95, leaving 2 daughters, Knuth and Ayers as her distributees. Petitioner, the decedent’s niece-in-law, submitted a document dated August 16, 2007, purportedly as Ballasalmo’s last will and testament. The will stated that Ballasalmo’s entire estate was to be divided between the petitioner and her…
In this probate case the court considered the question as to whether it has the authority to consider extrinsic evidence in the determining how to interpret ambiguous terms of a last will and testament. In her last will and testament, decedent Bruce made a provision as to the disposition of…
Matter of S. 2017 NY Slip Op. 07446 October 25, 2017 Decision This case is an appeal from Kings County Surrogate Court. The order vacated a prior order from July 2015 which denied the motion of CB and ME for a summary judgment, dismissing BB’s objections to probate. The court…
In this case the Surrogate’s Court had to consider issues related to a contested guardianship under Mental Hygiene Law Article 81 and invalidating a property conveyance by the person who is the subject of the guardianship. Mental Hygiene Law Article 81 provides that upon petition, the Surrogate’s Court can appoint…
In this probate proceeding the court had to address an issue related to the construction of terms in the will related to the restriction on the disposition of real estate. Decedent M. Bonanno died in 2002, leaving a last will and testament dated August 1, 1983. The Surrogate’s Court admitted…
In this case the Surrogate’s Court had to determine if a will should be invalidated due to improper execution, lack of testamentary capacity, and undue influence. On October 19, 2015, the Surrogate’s Court entered the will of decedent L. West into probate. An objectant, P. West, raised objections to the…
The issue before the Surrogate’s Court is whether a will was properly executed. New York estate law requires that in order for a will to be valid, it must meet certain technical requirements related to execution. That is the requirement now, and it was also the requirement decades ago when…