On New Year’s Day, none of us had heard of Covid 19 but things have changed very radically in a short time.
Our Courts have closed down for all but the most essential matters. Law offices were first told that
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THE SECURE ACT A NEW ACRONYM AND, PERHAPS A NEW MISNOMER
This past January, back when your 401lk was a bit fatter, the SECURE Act came into being, probably to make us somewhat less secure. Basically, this new act shortens the time you have to take distributions from your retirement accounts…
Slow Moving Surrogate’s Courts Have Become A Reason To Create Revocable Trusts In Place Of Wills
Over the past several years, the budget axe has fallen upon our Surrogate’s courts. The loss of personnel has resulted in huge backlogs in clerks’ offices. A simple application for Letters of Administration may literally take months during which time…
Moving To Florida? Consider A Revocable Trust Immediately After Establishing Residence
When it comes to elder law and guardianships, the Sunshine State is more like the wild west. Nursing homes and hospitals are a fertile hunting ground for unscrupulous attorneys who may convince residents to sign documents authorizing them to commence…
New York Raises Its Small Estate Limits
New York has approved an amendment to SCPA 1301 which raises the limits for small estates from thirty thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars. A small estate is a simplified proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court where it is possible to…
Administrators Have To Behave
Today’s New York Daily News reports the tale of a brawl with potentially wide-reaching implications for the Administrator of a New York County Estate. The administrator of the 3.1 million dollar estate was arrested for a brawl outside of a…
Surrogate Upholds Trustee’s Discretion In Making Distributions
In the Matter of Reuben Hoppenstein, No. 2015-2918/A (N.Y. Sur. Mar. 31, 2017) the New York County Surrogate ruled as appropriate the distribution of a life insurance policy to a new trust which eliminated certain beneficiaries of the distributing trust.…
New Surrogate Breathes New Life Into The Dead Man’s Statute
The New York Law Journal has reported that newly appointed Kings County Surrogate John Ingram has barred the testimony of a widow in an action about whether or not she may exercise her spousal right of election in the matter…
The Public Administrator Can Be A Complex Web Of Costly Patronage
A recent article in New York’s Daily News reports on the Queens County political machine and its incredible control over proceedings in that county’s Surrogate’s Court. It is a primer on the perils of what can happen where there is…
Computer Generated Images Open Uncharted Territory For The Estates Of Deceased Actors
Over the past holiday I treated my 15 year old grandson to a movie. Rogue One was not my choice but he enjoyed it immensely. At the close of the movie, a computer generated image of Carrie Fisher as Princess…