New York Probate and Estate Administration Lawyer Blog
A man who died in New York City was survived by two brothers. One lived in Endicott and the youngest in Pennsylvania who drove to Endicott and arrived in the evening to attend his brother’s funeral the following day.
A New York Probate Lawyer said that prior to the funeral, the youngest brother suggested that arrangements be made to read the will soon. Shortly after the funeral a conference was held at the Trust Company. Present were the two brothers, the executive vice-president of the Trust Company; the counsel for the Trust Company; and an associate attorney with his father-in-law.
The testimony concerning what occurred at that conference is completely contradictory. Postponing for the moment a discussion of the completely opposing testimony, it is agreed that both the living brothers each signed a form of Waiver and Consent to Probate. These waivers were retained by the father-in-law of the associate attorney.
Later that day, both brothers journeyed to the office of a counsel. The next day, both were present in the Trust Company when a search for a will was made on the safe deposit box of their deceased brother. Among the assets were somewhat over 3,000 shares of IBM stock, then worth in excess of $1,000,000.00.
There were two supplements attached to the will. The first affected only the inheritances to both and the second affected the interests of all excess recipients. All the excess recipients became necessary parties to establish the validity of the will. Eventually it developed that these excess recipients would number over 250 people, most of who lived in Switzerland.
Nassau County Probate Lawyers said that a petition was made for the appointment of a temporary administrator and letters of temporary administration were issued to the Trust Company. The associate attorney testified that when he filed the will and appendices, he attempted to file the waivers of citation and consents to validate but that they were not accepted because no proceeding was then pending.
The youngest brother consulted counsel in nearby Philadelphia. A conference was held at the Trust Company, attended by its executive vice-president; the associate attorney, the elder brother and his counsel; and the Philadelphia counsel for the younger brother. When the discussion indicated that objections were being considered to the validation of the will and appendices, no one mentioned the fact that waivers of the issuance of citation and consents to validate had been signed earlier by the brothers.
The father-in-law of the associate attorney, due to poor health, died the following year, according to Brooklyn Probabate Lawyers. Eventually the associate attorney concluded that the task of getting together material on the large number of parties for establishing the validity of the will and appendices would be unduly delayed if done by a single practitioner. He retained a firm to act as his counsel. A petition was filed on the same year and a citation was issued, which included the names of both brothers and both were served with a copy of the citation.
Within the time granted by the court, objections to validate were filed. Conferences continued among the attorneys and on at least two occasions, the court participated in a pre-trial conference to ascertain whether the differences might be resolved. When no resolution of the differences appeared possible, a petition was made for an order framing the issues and an order was made for a trial.
Shortly thereafter, the two waivers of citation and consents to validate signed by both brothers were filed. Both men were directed to show cause on why their objections should not be dismissed on the ground that they had previously consented to the validation of the will. Such is the recital of facts about which there is no dispute.
It is the position of the court that the validity of these waivers and consents to be established must be determined primarily on the basis of what occurred at the conference. Both men contend that the waivers are invalid because they were not properly acknowledged; and that they were deceitfully obtained; and that the advocate of the will and appendices is prohibited from use of said waivers because of the lapse of time between their execution and filing in this court.
According to reports, it was the younger brother’s recollection that the bank officer, did most of the talking at the conference; requested his waiver and consent; advised him that its execution was merely to record his presence at the conference; and presented the forms in blank for his signature. The elder brother’s recollection was less detailed. He, too, said that the bank officer did most of the talking. He understood the waiver and consent was signed so the court could permit payment of his late brother’s debts. He, too, said he signed a blank form.
The executive vice president of the Trust Company and the associate attorney testified that the deceased father-in-law of the associate attorney brought photocopies of the will and appendices to the conference along with waivers of citation and consents to validate, with the blanks filled out in his handwriting; that ample opportunity was given the brothers to examine documents; and finally, that the attorney’s father-in-law requested the waivers be signed, stating those are needed to establish the validity of the will.
The father-in-law did not take the acknowledgments but said as the associate attorney to notarize them. The associate attorney testified that he did not ask either of the brothers if they so acknowledged their signatures. He stated that since he had seen each sign, he believed it unnecessary to ask the oral question and he signed the certificates of acknowledgment in the usual form.
Of all waivers filed in the proceedings, the greatest number must certainly be waivers of the issuance of citation and consents to establish validity. Upwards of 60% of the wills validated in the court are admitted on jurisdiction acquired by these waivers. Perhaps their frequent use makes it rare when the nature of the waiver is called into question.
On analysis it is clear that the waiver really consists of two parts. One is a waiver of the issuance and service of a citation and a general appearance in the proceeding. The second part is consent to validate without further notice. For a legitimate request to validate the will, the portion relating to consent is unnecessary. When a citation is issued and no objections are filed, there are no consents by the persons so cited.
Counsel for the brothers in seeking to dismiss the motion, argue that the waiver and consent in each instance was not validly acknowledged. Relying on that claim, they charge that the whole waiver is void.
Generally an acknowledgment has nothing to do with the validity of a waiver. Its purpose is to furnish due proof of the execution of waivers affecting real property. A waiver is good between parties even though defective acknowledgment prevents its recording. In some instances, the statute requires acknowledgment for validity, such as the waiver of the issuance and service of citation previously mentioned; waiver of a right of election; assignment of an interest in an estate; a building and loan contract; and others. The word acknowledgment is frequently used but rarely analyzed.
The second reason advanced by counsel for the brothers is that the consent was obtained through deceitful misrepresentations. The court believes the burden of proving fraud rests on the one claiming it. Reduced to its bare essentials, counsel for the brothers would require the rules of the station house at the first interrogation apply whenever a will is read following death. Much argument was made that no efforts were made to advise the brothers that they were entitled to counsel. The brothers were conned into signing waivers and consents to validate by the suave representative of the bank.
Ignoring the ambiguities poured forth at length, there was one statement made by the attorney’s father-in-law that was not accurate. It was his statement when requesting the waivers and consents that the consents are needed to validate the will. Technically, this is not correct and a non-lawyer could well be misled.
The court finds that no credible evidence of any fraud on the part of the bank or its attorney was submitted by the brothers. The third basis advanced by counsel for the brothers to set aside the waivers and consents is based upon an rule of evidence. It is argued that, because of the lapse of time between the admitted signing of the waivers and their filing in this court, the advocate of the will is to prohibit from relying upon their validity. Here the brothers have never changed their position. From the time they left the conference until the present time it would appear that their constant goal has been to set aside the will of their late brother. Situations could exist where they might have changed their position to their disadvantage. Failure to show any change in position requires that the argument based upon allegation be ignored.
After pointing out the lack of evidence to support the arguments made by the brothers to dismiss the present motion, the court remains deeply troubled by the scarcity of any evidence constituting a credible explanation for the virtual disappearance of the waivers and consents until almost the date of trial. According to the testimony, they were not rediscovered until the file had been turned over to trial counsel for review in preparation for the trial of the validity of the will. In examining the entire file, the trial counsel found these waivers.
The testimony of the associate attorney indicates that he tried to file the waivers and consents before any proceeding was pending in the court. He knew then, some three months after they were executed, that they were in existence. Two months later, there was at least one conference between the parties, the general tenor of which indicated that objections would be filed to the will. Yet no statement was made concerning the existence of these waivers and consents. Other conferences followed with no mention of the waivers and consents.
In the practice of establishing validity of the will, every lawyer knows that when an heir receives less than his interstate share under a will, there is frequently reluctance on his part to sign a waiver and consent. The associate attorney’s father-in-law was an experienced practitioner in property matters for many years. While much younger, the associate attorney not only practiced his profession but also had been a trust officer in a bank. It strains the credibility of the court to believe that experienced practitioners, once having obtained waivers and consents in this particular instance, would not immediately feel that they were home free, as far as the two people who might possibly file objections to this will. One just does not forget the existence of waivers and consents obtained at the outset of proceedings when almost immediately on the horizon appeared the possibility of a will contest.
Like any agreement between parties, a waiver can by agreement be withdrawn and canceled. The conduct of the attorneys for the proponent when the first conference was held attended by counsel for the brothers, during which it appeared that objections to the will were being contemplated, and all of the subsequent acts of counsel for the advocate and counsel for the brothers, have been consistent with only one conclusion, namely, that the waivers and consents to validate were withdrawn and no longer valid between the parties and were no longer valid waivers in the proceeding.
When a family member left you their hard earned assets, Stephen Bilkis & Associates with its skilled legal team will work hard with you to obtain what the law dictates.