New York County Surrogate Nora Anderson recently denied a summary judgment motion on an objection based on undue influence. The proponent of the will started as decedent’s part-time health aide and became indispensable when decedent required continuous attention Decedent was accompanied by proponent on visits...
Manhattan Surrogate Rita Mella decided to order a posthumous genetic marker test in the contested proceeding to compel the account of the estate’s administrator The court noted it must determine if ordering the test was practicable and reasonable and would impose undue hardship on decedent’s...
New York County Surrogate Rita Mella found a will signed by the decedent to be valid despite his advanced age and some visual impairments. Because execution was supervised by an attorney and there were contemporaneous affidavits of attesting witnesses reciting the facts of due execution...
A Trustee wanted to take personal distributions from a trust that she would have been allowed if not for the fact that he was also the sole trustee of the trust. Surrogate Robert Gigante in Staten Island (Richmond County) noted without appointment of a co-trustee,...
Bronx County Surrogate Nelida Malave-Gonzalez recently granted a summary judgment motion by an Executor seeking dismissal of objections by decedent’s mother and brother in a proceeding seeking to lift restrictions within the letters testamentary to distribute net proceeds of a personal injury claim....