Articles Posted in Westchester County

An American citizen who was a successful business man in New York got married to a French woman and thereafter bought a home in France where he lived together with his wife and daughter. Every now and then, he comes back to New York to look after some concerns about the business that he sold particularly because the said payment has not been fully paid. Whenever he was in New York, he would stay from time to time in a Flushing apartment which was especially provided to him by the corporation that he previously owned before selling it to his business partner.

It was also in New York that he executed a will in 1970 covering his estate and stated that the said will must be probated in the courts of New York when the proper time comes. Embodied in the will are provisions ceding to his wife all his personal properties and personal effects as well as a weekly allowance. The will also provided for an allowance to his brother which would come from the residuary trust. The daughter of the testator was also provided in the will and she was supposed to receive the income from a trust fund up to the time that she reaches the age of 35. He named as executor his long-time business partner for whom he sold his entire business interest in New York.

A New York Probate Lawyer said a few weeks before the death of the testator in 1972, he also executed before a French notary public, a deed of donation. Said deed of donation is in the form of inter vivos donation which will take effect upon the death of the donor. In the said Deed of Donation, he is leaving the entire estate administration and ownership to this wife subject to the condition that if there be children of the donor at the time of his death, then the wife as donee shall determine the right amount to be given to said children subject to the rules of the applicable law when that time comes.

Continue reading

A man who was born and raised in Brooklyn died and survived by two grandchildren. For many years, the deceased and his wife lived in Florida where his granddaughter lived. At some point, he and his wife moved to Phoenix, Arizona where his grandson lived. They were living in Phoenix when the deceased man’s wife died. The deceased remained in Phoenix until he moved to New York in late September 2005.

While living in Phoenix, the deceased executed a will, which left his estate to the trustee. On the same day, he executed a trust agreement creating a revocable lifetime trust. Under the terms of the trust, the property passes to the grandson upon his grandfather’s death.

In 2005, the deceased called his sister and told her he wanted to return to Brooklyn to live with her. The sister and her daughter visited the deceased on September 27, 2005. At that time, the deceased was 95 years old and suffering from cardiac problems. The deceased asked his sister to take him back to Brooklyn to live with her.

Continue reading

On December 1, 1988, a resident of Fulton County, 82 years of age (referred to as the “decedent”), died in Spartansburg, South Carolina. He was survived by a brother who is the only distribute. At exactly two weeks before the decedent’s death, he executed a last Will and Testament (referred to as “the will”) on November 17, 1988. The will excluded the brother but included two strangers, whom they are not related to by blood, who reside in South Carolina. The will was attested to before three witnesses, all of whom reside in South Carolina. Subsequently, by reason of the brother’s exclusion as an heir, the brother then objected to the probate of the will or made a will contest and demanded an examination of the attesting witnesses (a probate is the legal process of administering the estate or estate administration of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person’s property under the valid will – source: Wikipedia). Thus, estate litigation ensued.

Now, where should the examination be held and who must bear the expense of such examination?

The proponent (supporter of the will) claims that once the decedent’s will is presented to the court with an affidavit of the attesting witnesses authorized by SCPA with the requirements having been met, the burden of compelling the production of the attesting witnesses is upon the party seeking to depose such attesting witnesses. A New York Probate Lawyer said the proponent refers the court to Powers, Supplementary Practice Commentaries, that ” * * * the duty of compelling the attendance of a witness [is imposed] upon the party seeking the examination”, and it refused to direct the proponent to produce the witnesses for examination.

A man and wife were married and had three sons. One of the sons had a disability that required lifetime care. The couple divorced in 1985 and the man was ordered to pay support of $100 weekly. The man failed to pay support and the woman obtained a judgment for $7,000 in support arrears. The couple remarried in 1986 but divorced again in 1988. The man was ordered to pay support of $60 weekly. Again he incurred arrearages. In the second divorce decree, the man and his first wife agreed that the first wife and their disabled son will live in the house rent-free until their death.

The man married another woman with whom he had a daughter. When the man died, he left an estate comprising of an interest in a house co-owned by him and his ex-wife. His ex-wife owned the other half interest in the house. He left his entire estate to his minor child from his second marriage and appointed his second wife as executrix of his estate. His second wife succeeded in having her husband’s will admitted into probate and she was issued letters testamentary as executrix of her husband’s will.

The first wife died before the husband. In her will, she gave her disabled son a life interest in her half of the house. And when her disabled son dies, her half interest in the house will go to her two remaining sons.

Continue reading

A 91 year old man died in a nursing home in Westchester County on December 10, 2003. He was survived by his three children: a daughter and two sons. His will provided that his real property in Suffolk County be devised to his daughter; he bequeathed the amount of $50,000 to his youngest son and lastly he bequeathed his residuary estate and personal properties to all his children in equal shares. He also provided that his bank accounts which were held jointly by the 91 year old man and his children shall form part of the estate assets and shall not pass to his surviving co-depositor.

The will was executed before the testator’s long-time lawyer and his office assistant. Both the lawyer and his office assistant were attesting witnesses to the will.

In 2004, the eldest son objected to the probate of his father’s will on the ground that the will was procured by his sister with fraud and undue influence on their father. He also testified that the letters testamentary issued to his sister be revoked as she had caused around $300,000 to be withdrawn from their father’s account and transferred to her own personal account.

A man married his same-sex partner in Canada in June 2008. He then executed a last will and testament two months later on August 12, 2008. In that will, he made three bequests to his three brothers and he also made a bequest to his goddaughter. He left the residue of his estate to his same-sex partner. He named his same-sex spouse as the executor of his estate.

In December 2008, the testator died. His same-sex spouse, who was also named executor of his will filed the petition for probate of his deceased spouse’s will. He served the three brothers and the goddaughter with notice of probate. In his petition, he claimed that he is the surviving spouse of the testator and the sole distribute.

Three days after filing the petition for probate, the Surrogate’s Court of New York granted the petition for probate without issuing citations.

Continue reading

A will was written, signed, attested, to conform to the legal requirements of law on probate. The testator’s intention to give his estate to his heirs was set. The presence of competent witnesses to a Notary Public was noted.

Children of the decedent who acted as respondents moved to force the surviving spouse, the lawyer-drafter of the will and the accountant of the decedent to reproduce the original and/or photocopies of earlier wills. Original photocopies of the letters between decedent and the attorney-drafter and the unrevised photocopies of notes taken by the lawyer during two separate in-private meetings with the decedent was subject of the probate.

A New York Probate Lawyer said th decedent’s children believed that those documents controlled by decedent’s wife were material pieces of proof. Testator’s wife was unwilling to disclose the true and original wills and testament. Children alleged that the agenda of several private meetings held and organized by decedent’s wife, probate lawyers and the accounts have something to do with the fraudulent wills contested in the estate litigation courts. The party attempted to collaborate the outcome of estate proceedings in their favor.

Continue reading

The appeal concerns a family dispute over the last Will and testament of the mother. The court is asked to determine whether various actions undertaken by the respondent sons in relation to the validation of the Will violated the apprehensive clause contained in the ninth paragraph of the Will. Based on the intent of the mother who made the Will, the respondents’ actions violated the apprehensive clause and therefore the respondents have forfeited their right to take under the Will. Indeed, the apprehensive clause at issue was included in the subject Will in response to deteriorating family relations, and was both in anticipation of, and a forceful attempt to prevent, the very type of conduct at issue, conduct by the respondents that would delay the validation of the will, place the Will in jeopardy and harass the petitioner.

A New York Probate Lawyer said that the mother died in 1994. Under her last will and testament, the petitioner daughter, was named as the executor of the Will and was given the bulk of the real property and personal effects, and one-half of the remaining estate. The respondents are the sons and were each given one quarter of the remaining property. The children were not always treated unequally under the Wills, of which there were several. For example, in a Will dated September 22, 1986, the children were to take essentially in equal shares. A change started to occur in the late 1980’s, after the husband died. The period saw a marked deterioration in the relationships between the siblings, and between the mother and her sons, while the bond between the mother and her daughter strengthened. These changing relationships were evidenced by, among other things a letter sent to the mother her son. In the letter, her son accused her of engaging in an elaborate scheme to isolate and alienate her from her sons. The son demanded that the mother revoke her then-latest will (which was very favorable to the daughter); reinstate a prior Will which divided the property essentially equally among the children, and stop aiding the daughter financially unless she could prove need. If his demands were met, the son promised to keep the matter within the family. However, if his demands were not met, he threatened to take immediate legal action to nullify his mother’s then-latest Will as a product of fraud and undue influence and obtain the appointment of a conservator for the mother. He also intended to publicize the matter, an act loathsome to the mother’s sense of privacy. In an undated note in the mother’s handwriting, the mother wrote that her other son had stated that the property would be in court so long that the daughter would never see any of the money. Finally, in a Will dated May 25, 1990, the mother noted that the more favorable treatment of the daughter under the Will was based on the loving care and attention she had shown both her mother and her late husband during his long illness as contrasted with the less than exemplary behavior of her sons. Further, the mother expressly stated that the Will was the product of long and careful thought and her deeply held feelings toward her children and was not in any way the product of any undue influence by her daughter.

Westchester County Probate Lawyers said that in June 1993 the mother met with a new lawyer to discuss the drafting of a new Will, the subject Will. The mother stated that her continuing desire was to leave the bulk of her property to her daughter, but that she feared that her sons would try to cause trouble for her daughter. Accordingly, the subject Will included the apprehensive clause stating that if any beneficiary under the Will in any manner, directly or indirectly, contests the Will or any of its provisions, any share or interest in the property given to the contesting beneficiary, or to such beneficiary’s issue, under the Will is revoked and shall be disposed of by adding such share or interest proportionately to the shares of the remaining beneficiaries who have not so contested the Will.

Continue reading

A woman died in a nursing home and her will was validated in the court. The legal representative, whom she appointed, filed a petition containing an accusation of the jurisdictional fact that the woman died in her residency. It named, among others, the hospital as a beneficiary in the sum of $1,000. Waivers and consents on probate were filed, which included the waiver of a person who was designated in the petition as the sole heir of the woman.

Application has been made to the court to vacate the validation, on the ground that the woman was returned to her permanent residency at the time of her death and that the surrogate’s court did not have jurisdiction over the estate of the woman. Objections had been filed, after validation of the will, which were submitted, signed and verified by the attorney of the hospital.

A New York Probate Lawyer a formal order to defend was obtained and served to the legal representative and, to defend to the court why the decree of validation, should not be vacated. A cross-application was served by the legal representative to the hospital and its attorneys as counsel to dismiss the objections and the motion to vacate validation.

Continue reading