New York law prevents spouses from being disinherited. Instead, a spouse who is disinherited may go to court and claim their “elective share” which is the greater of fifty thousand dollars or one-third of the estate. Questions often arise as what the “estate” of the deceased spouse consists of. Naturally,…
At Ettinger Law Firm, we are fond of saying “trusts create order out of chaos” — for three major reasons: First, as noted in previous columns, an ever-increasing number of Americans suffer a period of legal disability later in life. Without your own private plan for disability, consisting of a…
Over half the marriages in the United States result in divorce. For many people, divorce ends up being one of the most difficult experiences in their life. As a result, when attorneys present a person with divorce paperwork, this individual often fails to consider every little detail of how it…
PROBATE IS UNAVOIDABLE It is a fact of life that we can never plan for the worse case scenario and there is always risk in anything you do. The law recognizes this special risk, at least in part, in wrongful death lawsuits. In order for a wrongful death action to…
The death of a loved one is an especially traumatic event. Lives can be upended and surviving family members and friends can be left feeling lost and confused about how to carry on. This is especially true when the death occurs suddenly or under tragic circumstances.…
In 2010, John Armstrong killed his eighty year old mother, Joan Armstrong, by bashing her head in with a brick and then stabbing her body repeatedly to drain the body of blood. However, despite this gruesome crime his attorney is arguing that he should still get his part of his…
This case centered on a dispute over the administration of a family trust as well as the interpretation of trust documents. Despite appealing the ruling, the defendant in the case violated court orders and, and the plaintiff moved to dismiss the appeal based on the rules within the disentitlement doctrine.…
When a person dies, someone else must step up and close the estate. If that responsibility falls to you, as an executor you must identify all of the estate’s assets, pay off creditors, and distribute what is left to the heirs. However, an added responsibility as the executor is that…
Last week we discussed the recently unearthed will of former Sopranos star James Gandolfini. The document was filed with a Manhattan court late last month, with the actor’s assets being left to a wide range of people including his two children, wife, sisters, and several friends. Those earlier reports noted…
When someone passes away, the basic principles of settling the estate seem straightforward: collect assets, pay off debts, and distribute what is remaining per the deceased’s wishes. While that cursory sketch appears easy enough, in practice, dealing with these matters can take years, have a significant cost, and result in…