Manhattan

Published on: July 11, 2012

Court Decides Probate of Case After Decedent Was Murdered

by Stephen Bilkis

On 2009, a mother with her two daughters died at the hand of their husband and father. After the incident, the father committed suicide and died later that same day. Consequently, the mother’s cousin granted the temporary letters of estate administration of the three deceased. The mother was survived by one of her sister however her sister filed a waiver of a notice to appear in court, renunciation and consent to the appointment of the mother’s cousin to serve as administrator in connection with each of the three estates.

The man, who was the cousin of the mother, then filed a four related petitions as temporary administrator of the estates of the mother and the two daughters, a petition for full letters of administration without bond in the assets of the mother and her daughters and a petition for the determination of the mother’s interest in real property, a condominium and a cooperative apartment.

A notice to appear in court for each petition was issued as well as the supplemental notice. The notice also duly served on the public administrator. In addition, the public administrator, whom at that time had been appointed as the temporary administrator of the husband’s assets, subsequently received a full letters. The heirs of the husband’s assets also received a full letters. The notices of appearance were filed but none of the husband’s beneficiary appeared.

Published on: July 8, 2012

Petitioner Files Application to Modify Trust

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 13 April 1968, a woman (hereinafter The Decedent) died leaving a will. The petitioner, a Child Care Society (hereinafter Child Care Society), seeks to modify the decedent’s will to designate a Residence for Boys (hereinafter Residence for Boys) as a beneficiary of a testamentary trust (hereinafter Testamentary Trust) established under the decedent’s will in lieu of the petitioner.

On 16 January 1969, the will was admitted to probate (for estate litigation, estate administration or will contest). The will sets forth various charitable beneficiaries. Article Fifth of the will for which relief is sought bequeaths the entire residuary estate to a trust for the benefit of a Child Care Society. Article Fifth further provides for the invasion of the principal of the trust annually until the trust and corpus is exhausted. A New York Probate Lawyer said the Testamentary Trust has a remaining principal of approximately $90,000.

Published on: July 7, 2012

Court Decides Validity of Will

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 11 March 2011, a decedent died testate at the age of 91. She was survived by one child. Under her will dated 18 November 2010, decedent gave her personal property to her child, $6,000 to Children International, $10,000 to another individual, the proceeds of an insurance policy to a trust created for the benefit of her two grandchildren, her child’s children, and disposed of her residuary estate in three shares, as follows: one share to the trust for the grandchildren; and the other two shares to a supplemental needs trust for the benefit of her child. A lawyer (“the Lawyer”) is the nominated executor and trustee.

Following decedent’s death, the lawyer filed a probate petition as a start of estate administration. The surviving child of the decedent is a person under a disability, having suffered severe strokes in September, 2010. Because the child’s interest is greater in intestacy, a guardian ad litem (“the GAL”) was appointed for her in this proceeding. Preliminary letters testamentary have issued to the lawyer.

Published on: June 29, 2012

Court Discusses Jurisdiction Issue Regarding Probate Proceedings

by Stephen Bilkis

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 prior to her death, was also submitted for probate in Kings County.

The woman was born in St. Lawrence County. The testator was a licensed public school teacher and she has been assigned in various public schools up and down St. Lawrence County until she was thirty-three years old. St. Lawrence is her domicile of origin. In two periods of her life from February 1898 until September 1926 and again from March 1928 until January 1935, the woman was assigned in different schools in the different counties of New York.

When she got married, she lived with her husband for years in Lincoln, Nebraska. Later, in 1929, she and her husband left Lincoln, Nebraska and moved back to Brooklyn, New York. They later moved to a new house on Island Park, Long Island also in New York. A New York Probate Lawyer said until much later, when her husband had died, she sold the two houses she and her husband acquired at Island Park, Long Island.

Published on: June 24, 2012

Court Rules That Trust Acted as a Substitute Will

by Stephen Bilkis

A man created a living trust. A living trust is one where all the man’s assets are put in a trust with a bank or trust company and the income earned by his assets will be paid out to the man himself. The problem with this living trust the man created was that he bought the trust document in a pre-printed fill-in-the-blank form: he never went to a lawyer to have the lawyer create a trust document for him, tailor-cutting the provisions of the document so that it would fit his circumstances.

The trust he created came in a document that was sent to him in the three-ring-binder contained a Certificate of Trust, and Affidavit of Trust, a Living Will, a property power of attorney, a health care power of attorney and a copy of the man’s will which was stapled. The man can just cut out and paste those provisions that he didn’t like and keep the provisions that he did like and wished to retain. Glued to the ring binder is a sticker that showed the name and copyright of the lawyer who created the fill-in-the blank trust and will. The three-ring binder is part of an estate-planning product that also includes a seminar, a handbook and a computer software program which allows the person who purchased the portfolio to create a will and print it.

A New York Probate Lawyer said the living trust was created sometime on April 30, 1996. On the same date, the man also executed a will. The man’s will provided that all of the properties of his estate which were included in the living trust will be revoked upon his death and the entirety of his estate will pass on to his dear friend. This provision was later amended by the testator before his death on September 9, 1996. The amended provided that only 99.75 per cent of the entire estate under the living trust will be given to his dear friend and the remaining .25 will pass on to another friend.

Published on: June 21, 2012

Court Decides Non-Marital Child’s Status

by Stephen Bilkis

In a probate proceeding, two non-marital children have moved to have their status as children entitled to benefits under the after-born statute determined. In a prior decision, the court ruled that any question regarding a party’s status in a probate proceeding should be determined as a preliminary matter and stayed all other proceedings.

A New York Probate Lawyer said that rather than question any of the underlying facts, such as proof of paternity, the parties have consented to have the motion submitted assuming the truth of the non-marital children’s allegations for a determination of whether as a matter of law those allegations state a cause of action entitling the claimants to after-born status.

The father of the children died and was survived by eleven children; three from a first marriage, four from a second marriage and the four alleged non-marital children. The will offered for probate benefits only one child from the first marriage, the petitioner and named executor, who inherits the entire estate valued at several million dollars.

Published on: June 13, 2012

Court Decides Status of Real Estate in Decedent’s Estate

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 31 May 1988, a man (the testator) executed a last will and testament in which he devised and bequeathed a life estate interest in premises located at Hopkins Avenue, County of Kings, State of New York, (Hopkins Avenue property) to defendant, including the right for her to collect all rents as they become due for her own use and benefit.

On 25 November 1988, the testator died. On 17 March 1989, letters of administration of the estate of the testator were issued to the testator’s relative. Thereafter, as administratrix, she entered into a contract to sell the subject premises to a Brokerage Corp.

Published on: May 31, 2012

Petitioner Requests a Contingent Executor

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 13 October 2006, a decedent died without a spouse or children and leaving a will dated 5 September 1986. Under the will, in the event that one of the decedent’s brothers (“the brother”), who is the nominated executor, and the decedent’s nephew, the first named contingent executor, predeceased the decedent, failed to qualify, or if the office of executor is otherwise vacant, the decedent’s niece is nominated as the contingent executor.

The first named contingent executor did, in fact, predecease the decedent. Thus, the decedent’s niece is nominated as the contingent executor.

Published on: May 27, 2012

Petitioner Seeks to Remove Fiduciary

by Stephen Bilkis

This is a probate case regarding the last will and testament of Edith A. Johansen. The case is being held in the Surrogate’s Court of the State of New York in the county of Nassau.

Application

This case is a request for application for preliminary letters testamentary. A New York Probate Lawyer said the decedent, Edith A. Johansen passed away on the 14th of December in 2005. She left behind a will that was dated the 13th of September, 2005. There was a will made prior to this time that is dated the 24th of January, 2003. The will from 2003 names the daughter Karen Colossale of the decedent as the executor of the estate and the decedent’s other daughter Maureen Erickson as the successor executor. The will from 2005 names Karen as the executor as well. Additionally, Linda Johansen the decedent’s other daughter survives as well.

Published on: April 28, 2012

Court Hears Real Property Case

by Stephen Bilkis

In this case, the Bay Street Landing Home Owners Association is the Plaintiff, while the defendants include PDR Bay Street/St. George, LLC, Philip Ressa and Estates at Bay Street Landing, LLC.

History

A New York Probate Lawyer asked the plaintiff asked for a summary judgement for $300000 and interest. The defendants once owned 130 Bay Street Landing in Staten Island New York. Counterclaims were also laid by the defendants. Ressa was once a principal in PDR and a guarantor for the Promenade Fund for the HOA. He sued another principal and guarantor, Dominick Marino, and two others: Leib Puretz and Tovia Mermelstein. Those two moved for summary judgment in favor of the defendant. They also asked that Ressa’s lawyer be disqualified because he might need to be a witness.