The Trial The trial will either be conducted before a jury or by a judge. There are certain issues an individual can request a jury for. If the claims at trial are that the executor, administrator or trustee embezzled funds or acted improperly, the court can order that individual to repay the estate or the trust for the funds which were improperly … [Read more...]
Handling An Estate in a Nutshell
All human beings that live will eventually die. When a loved one passes, dealing with his or her estate is not a task most people look forward to. However, most people will, during the course of their lifetime, be involved with estate issues concerning a loved one. When the grief passes, the issues involved are who are the heirs of the estate, … [Read more...]
Mother Can’t Receive Inheritance From The Estates of Her Three Children Whom She Killed!
Judge McCarty sitting in the Surrogate’s Court in Nassau County recently had a unique case before him. A mother had drowned her three children. However, she was found not guilty due to mental illness. Judge McCarty ruled even though the mother was mentally ill and she did not know that her conduct was immoral and wrong, she could still not … [Read more...]
New York State Tax Exemption Statute
If you die in the State of New York, you may have to pay New York State inheritance taxes. This is in addition to potentially paying federal estate taxes. Until fairly recently only the first $1,000,000 inherited in an estate was exempt from New York State estate taxation. However, the law recently changed. The tax exemption for an estate is now … [Read more...]
Objections to the Probate of a Will for Undue Influence and Lack of Capacity Denied by the Surrogate
Surrogate Peter Kelly, sitting in Queens County, recently had a case before him wherein a son objected to his father’s will being probated. The son, by his attorney, filed objections to probate. The objections alleged his father lacked testamentary capacity at the time of the execution of the will, the will was not properly executed, and there was … [Read more...]
Reclusive Heiress’ Estate Settled
Huguette Clark died in 2011. At the time of her death, she had more than $300,000,000 in assets. There has recently been a tentative settlement agreement worked out between a variety of parties litigating over the late Huguette Clark’s $300,000,000 estate. Her Life Story Ms. Clark was born in 1906. She died at the age of 104. She had been … [Read more...]
Reforming a Trust
Surrogate Rita Mella, sitting in the Surrogate’s Court in New York County, recently had a case involving the issue of reforming and/or changing a trust. In this case, the two co-trustees brought a proceeding to make major modifications to the terms of the trust. These trustees requested they be given a limited power to invade trust principal. The … [Read more...]
Retirement for Seniors is Growing Out of Reach
In earlier generations, retirement was looked at by Americans as their golden years. This may no longer be the case for seniors. It is estimated close to half of all Americans facing retirement age are economically insecure. More than a quarter of all individuals facing retirement have less than $1,000 in savings. The average senior citizen has to … [Read more...]
Dying Without A Will
When an individual dies who has no will, the distribution of his or her estate is determined by the Intestacy Law of the state in which the person died in. In the State of New York, individual’s estates who die without a will are distributed as follows: 1. The first $50,000 goes to the spouse, if there is a spouse. The balance of the estate is … [Read more...]
Do It Yourself Estate Planning: A Big Mistake!
We live in the age of the internet. There are numerous websites that provide information with regard to preparing your own wills and trusts. Many of these self service legal websites have spent significant amounts of money advertising their services on the internet. They purport to provide you a way of one stop shopping in the area of estate … [Read more...]
