Probate & Estate Litigation

Published on: April 24, 2012

Court Decides Jurisdiction between French and American Wills

by Stephen Bilkis

A son from California filed for an order dismissing the pending proceeding to probate his mother’s New York Will that raises an interesting question of jurisdiction. The son argues the jurisdiction of the court to prove the validity of the Will of a non-residence which requests New York to prove valid and invokes New York law on the ground that her French legal residency has assumed jurisdiction over her estate. The motion is opposed by the Petitioners in the proceeding, the co-executors named in the Will, who are presently serving as preliminary executors.

The New York Probate Lawyer said the mother who made the Will was born a French citizen in 1899, and she became a naturalized United States citizen. She was a New York resident for about thirty years. For approximately seven years she was employed in the law offices in New York City. During this period she worked as secretary to one of that firm’s senior partners. A lawyer-client relationship with that firm also commenced during that time. The French Ordinary Residence Card issued indicates that the mother who made the Will stated that she returned to France on October 24, 1971.

The New York Will which is the subject of the jurisdictional attack was drafted by the firm in New York she worked for. It was allegedly executed by the deceased in the firm’s Paris office in 1972, and there is no challenge on the matter. Both the petitioners and the son refer to the 1972 document as the New York Will. Both sides seemingly agree that this Will, whether admitted to be proven valid in New York or established in accordance with French law, governs at most the property of the deceased mother which was physically located in New York when she died, and that it does not affect property actually located in France, which passes under the French Will.

Published on: April 24, 2012

Court Rules on No Contest Provision of the Will

by Stephen Bilkis

This issue was brought to the court to extend the time to file objections in validation of the will and a motion for construction of the provision. This is concerning the legal proving of the will of a woman who died, leaving a taxable estate of almost two million dollars. The most recent will dated, two weeks before his death has been offered for validation by the appointed representative. However, the prior will has been filed with the court. Petitioner and several other interested parties have examined the witnesses. The court has extended the time for filing objections pending a decision on the construction issue.

A New York Probate Lawyer said the petitioner to the recent will, prays for a resolution that the no-contest provision does not apply to the other heirs, who include a foundation itself and a number of charities. The other organization supports the foundation’s position and has submitted an affidavit containing information that the no-contest provision is not directed to the charities. The woman’s grand-niece and other beneficiary have opposed the requested relief.

The recent will contains several gifts to individuals and charities of either specific dollar amounts, or items of tangible personal property, or a combination of both. New York City Probate Lawyers said in addition, the will sets up trust for her grand-niece and places another in trust for her sons. The grand-niece receives tangible personal effects and the house.

Published on: April 23, 2012

Court Decides if Decedent was Under Undue Influence at Will Signing

by Stephen Bilkis

The petitioners in this case have filed a motion for summary judgment which will dismiss the public administrator’s objections. The petitioners are also seeking the admission of the testator’s will for probate.

Before the death of the testator, he had been living in a facility for the elderly for many years. One of the two petitioners in this case is the current administrator of the elderly home. The other petitioner held the position of director of the same place. As co-executors of the will, the entire estate of the decedent will go to them.

Upon learning of the will, the petitioners have filed for probate but the public administrator prevents the action. The public administrator is obliged under the law to become one of the parties in litigation. The objections were raised because during that time, the decedent allegedly did not have the ability to draft a testament. The public administrator also made allegations that the contested will was only written because of the undue influence of the petitioners.

Published on: April 23, 2012

Court Decides Will Contest

by Stephen Bilkis

The petitioners of this probate case wanted to withdraw their petition and requested the court to issue letters of administration. The petitioners wanted to abandon their action placing on probate the alleged copy of the last will and testament.

According to the last will and testament of the decedent, the remaining estate will go to her sisters. The decedent named one sister as the executor of the will while the other one was named as the successor. The said executor had predeceased the testator and no issue was raised. The whole estate was passed on to the successor of the will which was also the other successor.

The successor had filed a petition for a guardian to be appointed for her property. Since the court has found that the successor cannot to be relied on managing her own properties, a guardian was appointed. A New York Probate Lawyer said the petitioners of the case were the appointed guardians.

Published on: April 22, 2012

Children Sue Stepmother for Mishandling Estate

by Stephen Bilkis

According to reports from a surrogate’s court, a decedent was survived by his wife, and two children from a previous marriage. In his last will and testament, he had chosen his wife to act as estate administrator. Upon his death, the will was submitted to probate court. The court named the wife as the estate administrator in the letter of testamentary.

Before the decedent’s death and months after the wife was accorded as estate administrator, she exercised her functions. It was asserted to be true that she made several transactions which resulted to lessen the funds of the contested estate. A New York Probate Lawyer said the wife have made repeated fund transfers from an alleged joint account to her own account; paid her personal bills and expenses thru multiple on-line transfers from decedent’s personal accounts in a certain bank; and checks payable to her decedent’s husband were signed, endorsed and deposited to her account.

The decedent’s children, with the help of their probate lawyers filed a case contesting the earlier decision of the court in naming the wife as the appointed executor. They reasoned out that she was unfit to carry out the terms of the contested will by virtue of dishonesty, by not providing their needs, by shallow understanding of good will and by thoughtlessly or carelessly expending of their funds. Queens Probate Lawyers said they asked the court to appoint decedent’s son as the executor instead of the wife. They submitted to the court a written document of the decedent’s therapist. The therapist testified under oath and sustained the allegations of the decedent’s children. The estate litigation lawyers further make clear that the case under litigation was not a subject for time consuming dispute. Children’s funds were at stake. The wife was guilty of a series of acts-any one of which, the court has the authority to give an order to remove the wife as executor in an earliest time.

Published on: April 22, 2012

Guardian Charged with Gross Negligence

by Stephen Bilkis

A guardian for an old man is accused of gross negligence, malpractice, inaction, unlawful and breach of authority relationship regarding his conduct and/or lack thereof in exercising a certain right of election on the old man’s behalf against the last will and testament of his deceased son.

The claim for compensatory and disciplinary damages results, allegedly, from the defendant’s failure as guardian of the father to have taken steps necessary to have enabled his ward to exercise his personal right of election against an excessive testamentary gift for educational purposes. While this probate proceeding concerned the will of the son who died, the facts herein involved concern the estates of three deceased because, as will appear more fully below, soon after the son died, the mother died and shortly thereafter, the father died.

Under the son’s will, the father, at the time of the son’s death, then over 90 years of age, was one of the son’s two beneficiaries, the other being the mother. The petition for validation of the son’s will was later amended to describe the father as being then a person under disability because he was incapable of managing his own affairs and a request made, in view thereof, for the appointment of a guardian to protect the father’s interests in his son’s estate. By order the then Surrogate appointed the defendant as guardian for the father in the validation proceeding of the son’s will. Parenthetically, the defendant was a long-time friend of the family. In the proceeding, the mother was separately represented by independent counsel.

Published on: April 21, 2012

Widow Thinks Estate Taxes Should Not be Taken Out

by Stephen Bilkis

This case involves the estate of Mr. Frank Wolf. The petitioner is the administrator of the estate, Betsy Wolf. Ethel Wolf is the respondent.

The Estate

The case involves the will of Mr. Wolf. Most of his property was left to his mother, while nothing appeared allocated for his wife. There was also no mention of estate taxes.

Published on: April 20, 2012

Petitioner Files Will Contest Due to Competency of Testator

by Stephen Bilkis

Relative to the petition for probate, the guardian ad litem for the decedent crafted and negotiated the stipulation of settlement of estate was filed before the court for review. The factual circumstances of the case rooted from the time the decedent, a resident of New Hyde Park, Nassau County died on February 15, 2009 leaving a last willl and testament dated June 28, 2007. She was survived by 19 distributees including siblings and the children of four predeceased siblings.

The will leaves all the property in three equal shares, i.e. two to the decedents sisters and the third to the decedent’s niece without mention of the other surviving sister who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease in whose favor the court appointed a guardian ad litem. Consequent thereto, the 15 distributees filed no objection to the will and preliminary letters issued to petitioner on May 19, 2009.

The will was contested as its execution which was not supervised by an attorney was made through a telephone call from the decedent’s niece herein mentioned and to which issues were raised concerning the competency of the testator at the time of the execution.

Published on: April 20, 2012

Will is Contested Based on Lack of Capacity of Decedent

by Stephen Bilkis

An 87 year old deceased rich man who was never married and had no children had invested wisely and left a non-specific estate of over $7,000,000. His latest will executed left his residuary estate in equal shares to his sister, his brother, two children of his predeceased brother and his sister’s three children — the eldest son, the younger son and a daughter. His sister was named as executor however she died before her brother. His sister’s younger son is the successor executor. His nephew filed a petition to validate the 1988 will and was appointed as preliminary executor. Objections were filed by the deceased man’s brother and the two children of his predeceased brother. The objections alleged lack of authority capacity, fraud and undue influence.

In January, 1989, he was taken to a clinic after becoming dizzy and falling. In April, 1989, he had a stroke. He was seen by the doctors at his clinic, who documented the deterioration of his mental condition. In January, 1990, he established a trust for his sister and her children and ultimately transferred over $1,500,000 to it. In December, 1990, he was found wandering in the Bus Terminal. The nephew arrived at the terminal and returned his uncle to his apartment. However, he was soon discovered walking outside his apartment in his underwear. he police took him to a hospital, where tests showed organic brain syndrome of the Alzheimer’s type. He was placed in the Nursing Home for Adults, an adult care facility. Queens Probate Lawyers said he was hospitalized again where he was diagnosed as having advanced dementia and atrophy of the brain. He was discharged to an adult health care center. The other nephew brought a proceeding to be appointed his uncle’s conservator. He and another uncle were appointed as co-conservators. The rich man’s brother arranged for his brother to be transferred to a facility in California, where he died a few days later.

The objections to probate were tried before the Surrogate in a non-jury trial. The trial lasted nine days and was vigorously challenged. Based on the record, the Court found that the deceased rich man lacked the ability to execute a will in 1988. It further found that he was susceptible to undue influence due to his weakened physical condition, that his sister’s relationship with him was motivated by her interest in his money. It is further found that there was a confidential relationship between him and his sister created by her control over his finances. Critical to the finding that his sister had actually exercised undue influence over him in the will contest were the findings made by the Court that prior to 1986, he had given only small gifts to family members but that after his sister began to exert influence over him, he transferred almost $2,000,000 to trusts for the benefit of her children and that she signed checks to each of her children from an account he established. The nephew does not dispute receiving the money, but argues that he had no knowledge of any impropriety.

Published on: April 19, 2012

Petitioner’s Request for Injunctive Relief Denied

by Stephen Bilkis

The following estate litigation was filed by the proponent. The proponent in this case is one of the three daughters of the testator. In her petition, she wanted to revoke the administration letters that were given to her sister. Because of this incident, the two sisters of the proponent had filed a motion against the proponent in to prevent her from submitting the testator’s will for probate.

The mother and now the deceased had resided in another country. One of the daughters of the deceased had requested letters of administration. In her petition, the sister had asserted that her mother was named as the distributee of the property of the proponent’s brother. The petition also indicated that the bank handling the estate administration did not perform its duty to distribute the proceeds of the estate to the others.

A New York Probate Lawyer said the two sisters gave consent to the appointment of their brother. The letters of administration were sent to the petitioner while the other sister defaulted since she was not in the city during that time. But she did receive the letter.