Ilene S. Cooper: Multifaceted Opinions As Summer Came to a Close

October 07, 2019

Ilene Cooper writes about recent multi-faceted opinions addressing a variety of issues affecting Surrogate’s Court practice in her New York Law Journal article. One such opinion was rendered by the Surrogate’s Court, New York County, in In re Brown. In addition, in passing upon a party’s standing in a contested probate proceeding, the Albany County Surrogate’s Court considered such issues as lost wills and the revocation of wills. Finally, this month’s column revisits the importance of carefully crafted pleadings, a subject that was discussed in the February, 2019 column.

In In re Brown, NYLJ, July 23, 2019, at 23 (Sur. Ct. New York County), the New York County Surrogate’s Court was confronted with questions related to jurisdiction, tortious interference with a prospective inheritance, fraud and fraudulent concealment, Judiciary Law §487, undue influence, constructive trust, the statute of limitations, and injunctive relief. The opinion presents a comprehensive discussion of each of these issues; the more salient features are discussed below.

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